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Senate filibuster is a hurdle to any national abortion bill. Democrats are campaigning on it

Democratic incumbents and challengers running for the Senate this year say they want to restore a national right to abortion, and many openly say they would support suspending the filibuster to do so. It’s become a key talking point as they try to capitalize on the nationwide battle over abortion rights that has generally helped Democratic candidates since the Supreme Court overturned constitutional protections two years ago. Republicans have criticized Democrats for wanting to change the rules and are emphatic they would not do so if they win the presidency and Senate.

Quick Read

Here’s a bullet-pointed summary of the article discussing the debate over the Senate filibuster and its implications for national abortion legislation:

  • Campaign Focus: Senator Tammy Baldwin, facing reelection, has centered her campaign on protecting reproductive rights and supports changing Senate filibuster rules to ensure women can make their own choices about abortion.
  • Political Stakes: Baldwin warns that if Republicans win, they might also attempt to use the filibuster change to impose a national abortion ban.
  • Democratic Position: Democratic Senate candidates are campaigning on restoring national abortion rights, with many supporting the suspension of the filibuster to achieve this goal.
  • Republican Response: Republicans criticize the Democrats’ willingness to change the filibuster rules and maintain that they would not do the same. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have proposed legislation to codify Roe v. Wade protections but oppose weakening the filibuster.
  • Senate Dynamics: Current Senate rules require 60 votes to end debate, which has blocked many legislative efforts. Democrats and Republicans have historically manipulated filibuster rules to pass judicial nominations.
  • Potential GOP Strategy: Despite historical resistance to changing filibuster rules for legislation, there is speculation and concern that Republicans might lift the filibuster to pass a federal abortion ban if they gain full control in Washington.
  • Public and Political Debate: Both sides are using the filibuster and abortion rights as key issues in their campaigns, with President Biden previously supporting a filibuster carve-out for abortion rights, which was blocked by moderate Senators Manchin and Sinema.

The issue is framed within the broader context of U.S. political polarization, with significant implications for legislative processes and the national legal landscape regarding abortion.

The Associated Press has the story:

Senate filibuster is a hurdle to any national abortion bill. Democrats are campaigning on it

Newslooks- CHICAGO (AP) —

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, facing a tough reelection fight in one of the races that will determine control of Congress, has made protecting reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign, and she’s willing to back that up by pledging to change the Senate filibuster rules if Democrats retain control of the chamber.

The Wisconsin Democrat said taking that step is necessary to ensure that women in every state -– not the government -– can decide for themselves whether to have an abortion. As part of her campaign, she warns that Republicans might also target the filibuster to impose a national abortion ban if they prevail in November.

“Republicans have shown time and again that they will stop at nothing in their pursuit of controlling women’s bodies – and I believe them,” she said.

FILE – Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks before President Joe Biden, Jan. 25, 2024, in Superior, Wis. Several Democrats running for the Senate this year say they support overriding the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation, to protect reproductive rights if their party retains control of the chamber. Baldwin has made protecting reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign — and she’s willing to back that up by pledging to change the Senate filibuster rules if Democrats retain control of the chamber. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Democratic incumbents and challengers running for the Senate this year say they want to restore a national right to abortion, and many, like Baldwin, openly say they would support suspending the filibuster to do so. It’s become a key talking point as they try to capitalize on the nationwide battle over abortion rights that has generally helped Democratic candidates since the Supreme Court overturned constitutional protections two years ago.

Republicans have criticized Democrats for wanting to change the rules and are emphatic they would not do so if they win the presidency and Senate.

FILE – Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaks as Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, left, listens during a news conference, Feb. 15, 2018, at the Capitol in Washington. Several Democrats running for the Senate this year say they support overriding the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation, to protect reproductive rights if their party retains control of the chamber. Collins and Murkowski have introduced legislation meant to codify the protections that had been established by Roe v. Wade. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, two prominent Republican supporters of abortion rights, have introduced legislation meant to codify the protections that had been established by Roe v. Wade. In a statement, Collins said she “will oppose any effort to weaken the legislative filibuster” by either party.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during a hearing of the Homeland Security subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Senate rules require 60 votes to end debate over a bill, effectively making it the minimum number of votes needed to pass legislation, as a means to provide a check on the majority. In an era of polarization and political gridlock, this number, as opposed to a simple majority in the 100-member Senate, has been a roadblock for the party in power to promote its agenda on issues such as voting rights and immigration.

FILE – President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting in the White House, Jan. 22, 2024, in Washington. Former President Donald Trump still says he’s proud that the Supreme Court justices he nominated overturned Roe v. Wade. Yet he spent much of the last year avoiding questions about supporting a national abortion ban should he return to the White House. In a video statement Monday, April 8, 2024. Trump did not call for a ban, disappointing religious conservatives. Within hours, the Biden campaign announced plans to release a new advertisement seizing on Trump’s position. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

But whichever party has control of the Senate can change the rules and carve out exceptions to the filibuster with only a simple majority vote. That step has been referred to as the “nuclear option” in the few times it has been employed.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats, under then-Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, did this for all judicial nominations but the Supreme Court in 2013, when Democrat Barack Obama was president and Republicans had repeatedly blocked Democratic nominees. GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Reid would regret that decision – and Republicans later changed the filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominees when they took back control.

FILE – In this Sept. 12, 2021, file photo U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks to an audience at the 30th anniversary of the University of Louisville McConnell Center in Louisville, Ky. Barrett’s confirmation was arguably the most political of any member of the court. She was confirmed on a 52-48 vote, the first in modern times with no support from the minority party. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

That allowed Republican Donald Trump, while in the White House, to put three conservative justices on the court, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed about a week before the 2020 election. She helped form the court majority that overturned Roe v. Wade.

While neither party has gone so far as to change the rules for legislation, many Democrats in Senate races this year have enthusiastically supported doing so, especially to protect abortion rights.

FILE – Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee to on Capitol Hill, in Washington on March 24, 2022. “This is a crisis, and in my estimation, because of a lack of planning from the administration, it’s about to get worse,” said Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Kelly and fellow Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema met Wednesday, March 30, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to press their case for the administration to better plan and coordinate a response. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

“If NASA had the rules of the United States Senate, the rocket ship would never leave the launchpad,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly said in an interview this month with NBC News. “So at times, at the appropriate time — I think this is one of them -– I would consider changing those rules to make sure that women can get the health care they need.”

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., arrives at the chamber as the Senate prepares to advance the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed by the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said “he has been on the record for years” that the rules should be changed and still supports that position. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has repeatedly called for eliminating the filibuster to protect abortion and voting rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

President Joe Biden talks with with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as he arrives at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who previously served one term in the House and is the leading Democratic Senate candidate in Florida, said in an NBC News interview this month that she is “very much in favor of pausing the filibuster and voting for a woman’s right to choose to codify Roe v. Wade.”

FILE – Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, addresses the crowd, April 23, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. Several Democrats running for the Senate this year say they support overriding the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation, to protect reproductive rights if their party retains control of the chamber. Mucarsel-Powell said she is “very much in favor of pausing the filibuster and voting for a woman’s right to choose to codify Roe v. Wade,” in an NBC News interview this month. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Her opponent, Republican Sen. Rick Scott, railed against Mucarsel-Powell’s support for pausing the filibuster. He did not comment on whether he would support pausing the filibuster to restrict abortion nationally but has staunchly defended it in the past, calling it “a vital and necessary rule to protect minority party rights.”

FILE – Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., addresses attendees at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, Nov. 4, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. Democrats hoping to hold their slim Senate majority after November 2024 are looking for upsets in two unlikely places, Texas and Florida, to help neutralize potential setbacks elsewhere. In 2018, Scott won his seat by around 10,000 votes out of 8.1-plus million cast. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

“Should it be ‘paused’ to pass the Green New Deal? What about to stack the Supreme Court or eliminate the Electoral College?” Scott said in a statement to The Associated Press that referenced his opponent. “Should we get rid of it permanently or only pause it when (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer tells her to? Be honest with the people of Florida about where you draw the line on ‘pausing’ democracy, Congresswoman.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

It’s not just Democratic lawmakers and candidates. In 2022, President Joe Biden said he supported a carve-out to the filibuster to codify abortion rights, an idea thwarted by two moderates who decided against running for reelection this year, Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a Democrat turned independent.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., asks questions during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for the 2024 fiscal year at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Political experts say there might be heavy pressure from anti-abortion groups to lift the Senate filibuster if the GOP gains full control in Washington, but national organizations have de-emphasized the issue, at least publicly.

FILE – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing Sept. 14, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sinema won Democrats a Senate seat from Arizona for the first time in a generation thanks in no small part to unity in her party and division among Republicans. Since then, Democrats have picked up the other Senate seat and won the top three state offices. But that winning formula is in jeopardy because of Sinema’s estrangement and divorce from the Democratic Party, a situation that could complicate President Joe Biden’s path to reelection and the party’s hopes for maintaining control of the Senate. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

When asked last month in a Time magazine interview if he would veto a bill that would impose a federal ban, Trump did not answer directly. Instead, he said “there will never be that chance” because Republicans, even if they take back the Senate in November, would not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and bring the bill to a vote.

Abortion-rights activists rally outside the Supreme Court, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Kristi Hamrick, spokesperson for Students for Life, said maneuvering around the filibuster is not a “realistic scenario” because the group has not seen coordinated efforts underway to do so. Instead, she said if Trump is elected, the group would push him to consider taking administrative steps to restrict abortion, including banning the mailing and online sale of abortion pills.

Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, said the organization has never taken a position on the question and instead accused Biden of being “intent on circumventing the filibuster.”

An anti-abortion supporter from Moore County holds a sign next to a 3-month-old baby as they wait to enter the Senate gallery, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C., as state legislators debate on whether to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would change the state’s ban on nearly all abortions from those after 20 weeks of pregnancy to those after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Both the Senate and House had to complete successful override votes for the measure to be enacted into law. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Democrats and abortion rights groups say they are skeptical Republicans would not attempt to lift the filibuster rule for a federal ban.

Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, said the GOP and anti-abortion forces “are ready to use every tool in their toolbox to ban abortion nationwide, and that includes circumventing the filibuster.”

FILE – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, May 4, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md. Nearly three years after authorities foiled a bizarre plot to kidnap Whitmer, the last defendants accused of taking part, Eric Molitor and brothers William Null and Michael Null, go on trial Monday, Aug. 21. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., also warned of a national ban if Republicans win the presidency and Congress.

“We cannot trust anything that Donald Trump says when it comes to abortion,” Whitmer said recently. “So no one should take any comfort in the fact that yes, he wants an abortion ban but he won’t get it because he doesn’t think we’ll have 60 votes in the Senate. Baloney.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Minnesota Republican Lincoln Reagan Dinner Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Trump has voiced conflicting views on the rule, depending on whether his party controlled the Senate. In 2017, his first year as president, he called for an end to the filibuster to move his agenda forward, including repealing the health care law enacted under Obama and building a border wall. But in 2021, a year after he lost his reelection bid and with Democrats controlling Congress, he said removing the filibuster would be “catastrophic for the Republican Party.”

Senator John Thune, R-S.D., talks after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Several high-ranking members of the Senate GOP — including Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and John Barrasso of Wyoming — have said they are firmly against lifting the filibuster. Thune and Cornyn are running to replace McConnell when he steps down from leadership after the November election.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the lead GOP negotiator on the Senate border and foreign aid package, does a TV news interview at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Jim Lankford, R-Okla., said this past week that GOP senators have discussed the issue during private meetings, and that he and others have said they want promises from those running for leader that they will not change the rules.

“It is something uniquely American to be able to have a place in government that both sides have to be a part of,” Lankford said.

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