Both Sides: Should Democrats scrap the filibuster to pass their agenda?
Democrats take both chambers on Jan. 3 with plans for early votes on health care, the Iran war and tariffs. Progressive groups and some Democrats want the Senate's 60-vote rule gone; Schumer won't say, and defenders in both parties call it a needed brake.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
What's happening: Democrats will control both chambers when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. They will hold more than 250 of 435 House seats, AP reported. ABC News projections give them 54 Senate seats, with Alaska and Mississippi still counting. House leaders plan early votes to boost Medicaid, restore an enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidy, end the Iran war and reverse some tariffs, AP said.
Where leaders stand: Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer won't say. "The focus has got to be on getting things done," he told AP. Fox News Digital asked him twice whether he would end the filibuster, and he did not answer. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, in line to be speaker, said, "We're going to get out of the gate fast."
The case for ending it: Progressive groups say voters expect results. "It will require the Democrats to get rid of the filibuster. There's no doubt about it," Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee told AP. Indivisible urged "breaking the filibuster on the first day," Roll Call reported. Sen.-elect James Talarico of Texas called it "a Jim Crow relic" that causes gridlock, the Daily Wire reported. In Time, Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote that if Republicans block key bills, "let's clear away Senate filibuster rules and pass the laws anyway."
Why it matters
Most of those bills would need 60 votes to clear the Senate under the filibuster, and then a signature from President Donald Trump. On election night, Trump posted a photo of a red hat reading "VETO," AP reported. Whether Democrats keep the 60-vote rule decides whether their House bills even reach his desk.
More context
The case for keeping it: Many senators fear ending the 60-vote rule would change the Senate's role as a brake on bills without durable support from both parties, Roll Call reported. Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who once backed ending it, now defends it. "I now recognize how important the filibuster is," he wrote this summer, per Roll Call. Outgoing Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, warned a Democratic majority would bring "two years of paralysis."
Who switched sides: Trump repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to end the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act voter ID bill, warning Democrats would do it if they got the chance, Fox News reported. Thune said he lacked the votes. In 2022, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema blocked a similar push by their own party.
Weak spot: Ending the filibuster would not get bills past a veto. Overriding one takes two-thirds of both chambers, or 290 House votes and 67 senators. Democrats will have more than 250 House seats and about 54 Senate seats, per AP and ABC News.
Weak spot: Thune's "paralysis" warning skips some cross-party openings. The ACA subsidy extension already passed the House with some Republican votes before stalling in the Senate, and Schumer says he sees "initial signs" of GOP support on some issues, AP reported.
What would change the story: Changing the rule takes 51 votes, Roll Call noted. With about 54 seats, Democrats could lose only three senators, and Fetterman has already said he backs the filibuster. Watch the Senate Democratic caucus in January, and the final Alaska and Mississippi counts.
Sources across the spectrum This story cites right-leaning and left-leaning outlets. Every source is listed below.
7 listed sources
- AP (Kevin Freking), House Democrats will start their majority focused on boosting healthcare and ending the Iran war, Nov. 7, 2026
- AP via Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, House Democrats' priorities include healthcare, Iran war, Nov. 8, 2026
- Roll Call, As Democrats look to next era, the veto and the filibuster await, Nov. 5, 2026
- Fox News (right-leaning), Schumer, Jeffries sidestep questions on nuking filibuster, Nov. 5, 2026
- Daily Wire (right-leaning), 'Jim Crow Relic': Talarico Calls For Ending Senate Filibuster, Nov. 2026
- Time (opinion, Sen. Elizabeth Warren; left-leaning), Why Democrats Won the Midterms, Nov. 5, 2026
- ABC News (left-leaning), election projections and GOP reaction, updated Nov. 8, 2026
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
House seat count (more than 250) and the early agenda are from AP's Nov. 7 report. The Senate count (54 Democrats, 44 Republicans, Alaska and Mississippi uncalled) is from ABC News projections as of Nov. 8. Veto-override thresholds are two-thirds of each chamber: 290 of 435 House members and 67 of 100 senators if all vote. Right-leaning sources: Fox News, Daily Wire. Left-leaning sources: Time (Warren op-ed), ABC News. Baseline: AP, Roll Call.
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