Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that if Democratic nominee Joe Biden defeats President Trump in the upcoming White House race, and Democrats take control of the Senate, Biden should spend “no more than three weeks” attempting to work with Republicans before ending the filibuster in the Senate.
The now-retired lawmaker told The Associated Press that Democrats have too many policy priorities to reach agreements under the Senate procedure requiring 60 votes to advance pieces of legislation.
“Biden — who wants always to get along with people — I understand that,” Reid told the AP.
“We should give the Republicans a little bit of time, to see if they’re going to work with him,” he continued. “But the time’s going to come when he’s going to have to move in and get rid of the filibuster.”
Reid has regularly called for lawmakers to scrap the filibuster. However, the AP noted that the former Democratic leader has rarely suggested a timeline for lawmakers.
“We want to get something done,” Reid, specifically citing climate legislation. “There’s so much more to do and we can’t do it if it takes 60 votes to get it done.”
Reid partially ended the filibuster in 2013 for most presidential appointees. Republicans in 2017 abolished the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.
Obama earlier this year supported ending the filibuster during the funeral for Civil Rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). He called the rule a “Jim Crow relic” and said it should be ended to help pass legislation restoring a central provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Reid told the AP this week that “of course I let him know I appreciated it,” following Obama’s comments.
The AP noted that supporters of the filibuster argue that the procedure keeps the Senate from becoming another iteration of the House, using only majority rule.