Even mired in scandal, the Trump administration has slowly, sometimes quietly, getting pieces in place to pass or enact sweeping legislative changes. President Trump has a great idea about how to speed up that process: ending the filibuster once and for all.
After a brief respite, Trump is back on Twitter to defend himself from … whoever it is that is out to get him this time. Once again it appears to be the routine workings of government. Noticing that his healthcare bill hadn’t been brought up in the Senate yet Trump tweeted, “The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!”
The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017
According to The Hill, Senate Republicans can use a process called reconciliation to pass budget-related measures with only 51 votes, so they don’t even need to end the filibuster. However, even Republican support of the House-approved healthcare bill is less than 100% — some have even indicated they would write their own bill and not vote on the version that passed in the House.
The Senate Republicans voted in April to lower the number of votes needed to confirm Supreme Court nominees to 51, leading directly to Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation.
(via The Hill)