What kills a filibuster?
Asked by: Adaline Lynch | Last update: February 5, 2026Score: 4.8/5 (43 votes)
You can end the Senate filibuster by invoking cloture with 60 votes, changing Senate rules via a two-thirds vote, or using the "nuclear option," a procedural maneuver for simple majority rule on specific matters, though eliminating it entirely for all legislation is difficult and debated.
How is a filibuster defeated?
That year, the Senate adopted a rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster, a procedure known as "cloture." In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of the 100-member Senate.
Can the filibuster be bypassed?
Though the reconciliation process allows a bill to bypass the filibuster in the Senate, it does not affect other basic requirements for the passage of a bill, which are laid out in the Constitution's Presentment Clause.
What are the rules for a filibuster?
A filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate. In general, if no other senator is speaking, a senator who seeks recognition is entitled to speak for as long as they wish.
Has a filibuster ever been successful?
Not until 1964 did the Senate successfully overcome a filibuster to pass a major civil rights bill. Nevertheless, a growing group of senators continued to be frustrated with the filibuster and pushed to change the cloture threshold.
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Who holds the longest filibuster?
A staunch opponent of civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s, Thurmond completed the longest single-person Senate filibuster, at 24 hours and 18 minutes in length, in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
What was Obama's filibuster proof majority?
In the November 2008 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majorities in both chambers (including – when factoring in the two Democratic caucusing independents – a brief filibuster-proof 60-40 supermajority in the Senate), and with Barack Obama being sworn in as president on January 20, 2009, this gave ...
Who filibustered for 25 hours?
This makes the filibuster the longest single-person filibuster in United States Senate history as of 2025. It was also the longest single-person Senate speech until 2025, when the record was broken by Cory Booker of New Jersey, with Booker speaking for 25 hours and 5 minutes.
Can you drink water during a filibuster?
Filibusters are governed by the Senate rules and by precedents interpreting the rules. Rule 3.02 prohibits eating or drinking in the Senate chamber.
Is 60% a supermajority?
Instead of the basis of a majority, a supermajority can be specified using any fraction or percentage which is greater than one-half. Common supermajorities include three-fifths (60%), two-thirds (66.666... %), and three-quarters (75%).
What is the Byrd rule?
A Senator opposed to the inclusion of extraneous matter in reconciliation legislation may offer an amendment (or a motion to recommit the measure with instructions) that strikes such provisions from the legislation, or, under the Byrd rule, a Senator may raise a point of order against such matter.
What does it mean to nuke the filibuster?
The metaphor of a nuclear strike refers to the majority party unilaterally imposing a change to the filibuster rule, which might provoke retaliation by the minority party.
What stops a bill from being passed?
This is called a veto. If the president chooses to veto a bill, in most cases Congress can vote to override that veto and the bill becomes a law. But if the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default.
Has the filibuster ever been suspended?
Never in history had the Senate been able to muster enough votes to cut off a filibuster on a civil rights bill. And only five times in the 47 years since the cloture rule was established had the Senate agreed to cloture for any measure.
Can you talk about anything in a filibuster?
During a U.S. Senate filibuster, a senator must speak on the bill or topic at hand (though it can be tangentially related), but they cannot leave the floor, sit, eat, drink, or use the restroom, and must yield the floor only to another senator or if the Senate votes for cloture to end debate. While the original "talking filibuster" required endless, on-topic speech, modern filibusters often involve just the threat of one, or procedural tactics to delay, but a senator can talk about the bill for hours.
Why is it called a filibuster?
It's called a filibuster because the term comes from Dutch and Spanish words for "pirate" or "freebooter," initially describing 19th-century adventurers raiding Latin America, then applied to legislators who "pirate" or hijack legislative proceedings by using endless debate to block bills, essentially "talking a bill to death". The tactic involves using the Senate's tradition of unlimited debate to delay or prevent a vote, much like pirates plunder ships.
How long can a filibuster last?
A U.S. Senate filibuster can theoretically last indefinitely, as it relies on "unlimited debate," but modern tactics often involve a symbolic gesture, and it's broken by a cloture vote, which requires 60 senators to end debate, or by the Majority Leader removing the item, making a filibuster only as long as the minority can sustain delaying tactics or until 60 votes are secured. The longest single-senator filibuster was Strom Thurmond's 24-hour, 18-minute speech in 1957, but modern filibusters are often less about hours of talking and more about blocking a vote until the majority gives up.
Can you eat on the senate floor?
No, generally you cannot eat on the U.S. Senate floor, as strict rules prohibit food and drinks to maintain decorum, allowing only water, milk, and candy from the "Candy Desk" as exceptions for senators during sessions. While water and milk have been permitted for a long time, candy became a tradition thanks to Senator George Murphy in the 1960s, with snacks provided from a designated desk.
How many votes to get rid of the filibuster?
The filibuster is the single most important rule for preserving bipartisanship in Congress. The 60-vote threshold to invoke cloture on a bill ensures that legislation must receive bipartisan support to become law, allowing lawmakers from both parties to play a meaningful role in the legislative process.
Was Trump's speech the longest?
The speech lasted 1 hour and 39 minutes, making it the longest address to a joint session of Congress in at least 61 years.
How did Cory Booker use the bathroom?
In preparation, Booker had not drunk water since the preceding day to avoid having to stop the speech to use the bathroom. He also fasted for days leading up to the speech. Afterward, Booker said that rather than needing to use the bathroom, he instead felt dehydrated.
Who is technically president of the Senate?
The Constitution names the vice president of the United States as the president of the Senate. In addition to serving as presiding officer, the vice president has the sole power to break a tie vote in the Senate and formally presides over the receiving and counting of electoral ballots cast in presidential elections.
Did the House ever have a filibuster?
In the United States House of Representatives, the filibuster (the right to unlimited debate) was used until 1842, when a permanent rule limiting the duration of debate was created. The disappearing quorum was a tactic used by the minority until Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed eliminated it in 1890.
What party controls all 3 branches now?
The term is primarily used in the United States, where it originated. It is borrowed from horse race betting. From 2017 to 2019 and since 2025 in the United States, the Republican Party has held the Senate, House of Representatives, and the presidency.
Has there ever been a supermajority in Congress?
Johnson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1960 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority, and with the election of President Lyndon B. Johnson to his own term in office, maintaining an overall federal government trifecta.