CHICAGO (AP) — Sen. Tammy Baldwin, facing a tough reelection fight in one of the races that will decide control of Congress, has made protecting reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign, and she is ready to do so by promising to change the filibuster that governs the Senate if Democrats retain control of the chamber.
The Wisconsin Democrat said the move is necessary to ensure that women in every state – and not the government – can decide for themselves whether to have an abortion. As part of her campaign, she is warning that Republicans could also target the filibuster to push through a nationwide abortion ban if they prevail in November.
“Republicans have shown time and time again that they will stop at nothing in their quest for control over women’s bodies — and I believe them,” she said.
Democratic incumbents and challengers running for Senate this year say they want to restore a national right to abortion, and many, like Baldwin, openly say they would support suspending the filibuster to accomplish that. It has become a central talking point as they seek to capitalize on the nationwide fight over abortion rights, which has generally helped Democratic candidates since the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional protections two years ago.
Republicans have criticized Democrats for wanting to change the rules, emphasizing that they would not do so if they won the presidency and the Senate.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, two prominent Republican abortion rights advocates, have introduced legislation that would repeal the restrictions imposed by Roe v. The protection measures introduced by Wade should be codified. In a statement, Collins said she would “resist any attempt by either party to weaken the legislative filibuster.”
Under Senate rules, 60 votes are required to end debate on a bill. This means that it is actually the minimum number of votes needed to pass a law to check the majority. At a time of polarization and political gridlock, that number, as opposed to a straightforward majority in the 100-member Senate, has been an obstacle to the ruling party’s ability to advance its agenda on issues such as voting rights and immigration.
But any party in control of the Senate can change the rules and establish exceptions to the filibuster with just a straightforward majority. This move has been referred to as the “nuclear option” in the few cases in which it has been used.
Democrats under then-Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada did so for all judicial nominations except the Supreme Court in 2013, when Democrat Barack Obama was president and Republicans had repeatedly blocked Democratic nominees. GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Reid would regret that decision — and Republicans later changed the filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominees as they regained control.
This allowed Republican Donald Trump to appoint three conservative justices to the court while in the White House, including Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed about a week before the 2020 election. She helped form the court majority that overturned Roe v. Wade fell.
While neither party has gone so far as to change the rules governing legislation, many Democrats enthusiastically supported it in this year’s Senate races, particularly to protect abortion rights.
“If NASA had Senate rules, the rocket would never leave the launch pad,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly said in an interview with NBC News this month. “Occasionally and at the right time – I think this is one of them – I would think about changing these rules to ensure that women get the health care they need.”
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said “he’s been on the record for years” saying the rules should be changed and still supports that position. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has been vocal since the overturn of Roe v. Wade has repeatedly called for the abolition of the filibuster to protect abortion and voting rights.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who previously served one term in the House and is the leading Democratic Senate candidate in Florida, said in an interview with NBC News this month that she is “very much in favor of breaking the filibuster and voting for a woman’s right.” .” choose to codify Roe v. Calf.”
Her opponent, Republican Sen. Rick Scott, railed against Mucarsel-Powell’s support for suspending the filibuster. He did not comment on whether he would support a suspension of the filibuster to restrict abortion nationally, but has strongly defended it in the past, calling it “a vital and necessary rule to protect the rights of minority parties.”
“Should passage of the Green New Deal be ‘paused’? “How about packing the Supreme Court or abolishing the Electoral College?” Scott said in a statement to The Associated Press, referring to his opponent. “Should we get rid of it permanently or just pause it when (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer tells her to?” Be sincere with the people of Florida about where you draw the line when it comes to pausing democracy, Congresswoman.”
It’s not just Democratic lawmakers and candidates. In 2022, President Joe Biden said he supported carving out the filibuster to codify abortion rights, an idea thwarted by two moderates who decided against seeking re-election this year, Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a Democrat, became an independent.
Political experts say there could be robust pressure from anti-abortion groups to end the Senate filibuster if the GOP gains full control in Washington, but national organizations have not emphasized the issue as much, at least publicly.
When asked in an interview with Time magazine last month whether he would veto a bill that would impose a federal ban, Trump did not answer directly. Instead, he said, “That chance will never happen” because even if Republicans take back the Senate in November, they would not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and bring the bill to a vote .
Kristi Hamrick, spokeswoman for Students for Life, said bypassing the filibuster is not a “realistic scenario” because the group has not seen a coordinated effort to make it happen. Instead, she said if Trump were elected, the group would urge him to consider administrative measures to restrict abortion, including a ban on mail-order and online sales of abortion pills.
Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, said the organization never took a position on the issue and instead accused Biden of “intending to circumvent the filibuster.”
Democrats and abortion rights groups say they are skeptical Republicans will not try to repeal the filibuster rule on a federal ban.
Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, said the GOP and anti-abortion forces are “ready to apply every tool at their disposal to ban abortion nationwide, and that includes circumventing the filibuster.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., also warned of a national ban if Republicans win the presidency and Congress.
“We can’t trust anything Donald Trump says when it comes to abortion,” Whitmer said recently. “No one should take comfort in the fact that they want an abortion ban but can’t get it because they don’t believe we’ll have 60 votes in the Senate. Nonsense.”
Trump has expressed conflicting views on the rule depending on whether his party controls the Senate. In 2017, his first year as president, he called for an end to the filibuster to advance his agenda, including repealing the Obama health care law and building a border wall. But in 2021, a year after he lost re-election and Democrats controlled Congress, he said eliminating the filibuster would be “catastrophic for the Republican Party.”
Several senior members of the Senate Republican Party — including Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and John Barrasso of Wyoming — have said they strongly oppose eliminating the filibuster. Thune and Cornyn are running to replace McConnell when he steps down from leadership after the November election.
Sen. Jim Lankford, R-Okla., said last week that Republican senators had discussed the issue in private meetings and that he and others had said they wanted those running for chairman to promise that they would Rules wouldn’t change.
“There is something uniquely American about having a place in government where both sides have to be involved,” Lankford said.
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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.
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