New Majority Leader Thune kicks off Senate session with pledge to preserve filibuster [View all]
Source: Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — New Senate Majority Leader John Thune is kicking off the new session with a promise to preserve the filibuster, saying in his first floor speech as leader that his priority will be to “ensure the Senate stays the Senate.”
Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans are taking power on Friday a little more than two weeks before Donald Trump will be inaugurated, cementing a firm GOP hold on Washington. And Thune will have to navigate his new responsibilities along with the new president, who has made clear he expects allegiance from Congress – and has previously called for eliminating the filibuster.
Opening up the two-year Senate session Friday after new and returning senators were sworn in, Thune said the legislative tactic that allows senators to delay consideration of a measure and require 60 votes for passage has “perhaps the greatest impact in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate.”
“There are a lot of people out there who would like to see the Senate turn into a copy of the House of Representatives,” Thune said. “And that is not what our founders intended or what our country needs.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/senate-thune-republicans-filibuster-trump-a520b71c6f071d5aa74d38105d6b7088
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