Can the Turtle change the rules so fewer than 60 votes are needed

[question everything]

to give Whiny Donny his wall?

[Marie Marie]

1. I thought McConnell said he would not do that...

but who knows?

[unblock]

2. He could, but he knows democrats will have a senate majority in 2 or 4 years

And then republicans would regret going nuclear.

Technically, mcturtle can't do it himself, he needs a majority to support the rule change.

[question everything]

4. And does he need a simple majority to change it

or, again, 60 , ending running around chasing his tail.

[unblock]

5. Simple majority

That's why it works and is essentially considered a dirty trick. Can't get 60 votes so you change the rules so you only need 50.

[dlk]

3. If There is a Way to Play Dirty, McConnell Will Find it

[RockRaven]

6. Can he? Yes. But the price for that is Dems repeal absolutely everything the GOP has done

in the past few decades next time they get WH, Senate and House simultaneously -- which is probably 2020 or 2022 -- because the GOP would then also not be able to filibuster. And beyond ditching Repuke stuff, they'd use that new-found simple majority threshold for cloture to pass things like single-payer/Medicare-for-all, closing corporate tax loopholes, controlling CO2 emissions, obliterating voter suppression/disenfranchisement, and all sorts of things.

That would be a devastatingly bad bargain for the GOP.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. And before they finish

they could put the old rules back into place. Double edged sword and Slimy Mitch knows damn well how that works.

[sharedvalues]

13. Dems BETTER repeal the filibuster ANYWAY.

Just like LBJ and FDR did: when you finally overcome the money from the wealthy and the voter suppression, you come into congress, play hardball, and enact sweeping legislation.

[SWBTATTReg]

7. There were earlier posts on this very topic. I can't recall them (this a.m. I know), but was ...

full of good info.

[PoliticAverse]

9. Yes, same way Harry Reid changed the rules for most Presidential appointments...

and McConnell changed the rules for Supreme Court appointments.

Neither party wants to reduce the threshold for regular legislation to be 51 votes currently though.

[question everything]

10. Thanks. I think that once we take control of the Senate, we should

return the filibuster rules.

Just thinking.

[Just a Weirdo]

12. No. Extreme nuclear option

Until balance is restored.

[malaise]

17. I thought that it cannot be changed for budget matters n/t

[still_one]

11. I believe so, but he won't do that for two reasons

1. The republicans will own the boondoggle that is the wall
2. 2020 is around the corner, and if the Democrats win, he knows the republicans will be screwed, because payback will happen

[Fullduplexxx]

14. That's the nuclear option

[WhiteTara]

15. I thought rules were set in place at the beginning of the session

but these are republicans, so that might not be true anymore.

[PoliticAverse]

16. That was misinformation spread by people that didn't know how the Senate actually functions.

The rules can be changed at any time - Harry Reid demonstrated that when he got fed up with Republicans blocking
Obama's judicial nominations and eliminated the filibuster for those nominations using the "nuclear option"
(See: https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/harry-reid-nuclear-option-100199 ).

Mitch McConnell did the same when he eliminated the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.

[WhiteTara]

19. Thanks for that info.

[gulliver]

18. He doesn't want to get the wall, nor does Trump.

They want to lose the wall, but they want their base to think they fought for it.