In 1806, at the encouragement of Vice President Aaron Burr, the Senate dropped a rule that limited debate. Twenty-five years later, the filibuster was born, when a group of senators blocked consideration of a bill to build a bridge over the Potomac.
But as the Senate considers Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to take a seat on the Supreme Court, the fate of the filibuster itself is up in the air. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDems ready aggressive response to Trump emergency order, as GOP splinters Green New Deal Resolution invites big picture governing ‘Contingency’ spending in 3B budget deal comes under fire MORE (R-Ky.) has indicated that he will consider eliminating the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees to cut off Democratic objections.
In this week’s episode of The Hill’s History-Cast, we take a deep dive into the historical roots of the filibuster, what it’s meant for some of the great debates in the nation’s history — and whether Republicans could take things one step farther by demolishing all filibusters.
Check out this week’s episode on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or your favorite podcast platform.
