Sen. John Cornyn said Wednesday that his fellow Republicans should change the Senate’s filibuster rules to try and force through a voter ID bill that President Trump has called his “number-one priority” heading into the fall midterm elections.
“For many years, I believed that if the US Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain,” wrote Cornyn (R-Texas), who is set to face Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton in a hotly contested May 26 primary runoff, in an op-ed published by The Post.
“But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.”
Cornyn called for his colleagues to adopt “whatever changes … may prove necessary” to pass legislation meant to secure America’s elections, as well as a separate bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security.
One suggestion the Texan floated was a so-called “talking filibuster,” in which senators are required to physically hold the floor to prevent votes on legislation.
Currently, most bills are blocked from passage if they fail to gain 60 votes under the so-called “cloture rule.” Under the proposed talking filibuster rule, legislation that is subject to the tactic could clear the Senate with just 51 votes once the floor is yielded.
“Today, Democrats are weaponizing the Senate’s rules to block the SAVE America Act, defund the Department of Homeland Security and hurt the American people — all to spite President Donald Trump,” the Republican wrote. “But they say openly that if these same rules ever get in Democrats’ way, they won’t hesitate to rip them up … A rule is only a rule if both sides follow it.
“I believe that Democrats, with their votes and statements, have already dealt the filibuster a fatal blow: The Senate rules will change eventually, whether Republicans like it or not.”
Last week, as rumors swirled that Trump was about to endorse Cornyn in the runoff and ask Paxton to quit the Senate race, the challenger said that he would drop out if the upper chamber scrapped the filibuster and passed the SAVE America Act, which requires would-be voters in federal elections to present documentary proof of US citizenship when registering to cast ballots.
The bill passed the House last month, but is stalled in the Senate in the face of universal Democratic opposition.
Over the weekend, President Trump threatened not to sign any more bills until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.
In remarks to House Republicans in Doral, Fla. Monday, the president praised them for passing the “common sense” bill, while saying Democratic lawmakers opposed it ‘because they know if we get this, they probably won’t win an election for 50 years.”
“I spent years defending the filibuster because the 60-vote threshold was a net benefit to Texas and our nation,” wrote Cornyn, who spent six years as the Senate GOP whip under party leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “Before moderate Democrats went extinct, the rules worked.”
“The Democrats’ recklessness and radicalism have changed the landscape,” he concluded. “On these critical issues, at this critical hour, the old procedures no longer align with the core American principles we must defend.”
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) insisted to reporters Tuesday that “the votes aren’t there” among the GOP to change the Senate rules, which can be done by a simple majority vote.
“It’s just a reality,” Thune said. “I’m the person who has to deliver, sometimes, the not-so-good news that the math doesn’t add up, but those are the facts, and there’s no getting around it.”
