A largely indecipherable procedural fight in the Senate last week made one thing perfectly clear: The famed filibuster is on life support, even though it might linger a bit longer.
The decision by Republicans to sidestep the chamber’s independent rules referee and strike down California’s plan to phase out gas-powered vehicles proved once again that a majority can maneuver around the 60-vote filibuster requirement as long as its leaders are willing to take the heat and — most importantly — produce the votes.
That proposition could be tested again in the near future, as the Senate takes up its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, legislation carrying much of President Trump’s domestic agenda that Republicans are trying to push through Congress on a simple majority vote.
Republicans had the votes and the nerve to navigate around the filibuster to block California’s phaseout of gas-powered vehicles, even though the Senate parliamentarian and the independent Government Accountability Office said the move did not meet the requirements for an expedited, filibuster-free vote. It took nearly a dozen procedural motions to do so, including one raising a point of order — or objection — on whether points of order should be in order.
The outcome, which had significant repercussions for national environmental policy, left Democrats fuming about what they said was the abuse of a convoluted congressional review process meant to be used to undo federal regulations.
“We are setting a precedent that the filibuster is essentially now meaningless,” said Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who was part of a group that challenged the Republicans but fell short. “Because if you can do away with the filibuster to do away with one state’s clean air, well you can pretty much do away with the filibuster for everything and anything.”
