You No Longer Have to Talk to Filibuster a Bill

In the Senate today, blocking a bill does not require a marathon speech. It only requires a threat.

A filibuster, as political scientist Eleanor Powell explains it, is any delay or obstruction that a single senator can use. The old image was standing on the floor and talking until you dropped. Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave a flavor of that in 2015 when he read Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" on the floor while opposing the Affordable Care Act.

The record for that kind of endurance belongs to Senator Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes straight during a 1957 fight over civil rights legislation. He reportedly sat in steam baths ahead of time to dry himself out so he would not need to use the bathroom.

The Senate used to break that kind of blockade by waiting a senator out. Now it uses a procedure called cloture, which means a vote to end debate and move to a final vote. Cloture requires 60 votes, or three-fifths of the Senate, which is a high bar.

And senators no longer have to hold the floor to force that vote. They simply declare that they intend to filibuster. Senate leaders take the threat seriously, and then they have two choices: try to round up 60 votes for cloture, or give up and move on to something else.

That change made obstruction much cheaper. There is no need to talk yourself hoarse or prepare your body for a day without water. If 41 senators say they would block a bill, the other side cannot reach 60, and the bill stalls without anyone saying much at all.