John Fetterman

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Monday in a Washington Post op-ed that he was “horribly wrong” for previously supporting efforts to eliminate Senate filibusters.

A filibuster is a way to stop or delay a vote on a bill. Many filibusters have featured long speeches designed to prolong debate on an issue.

Ending a filibuster to force a vote typically requires at least 60 votes in the 100-member Senate, though certain types of legislation are exempt from that requirement.

Mustering 60 votes on a contentious issue in the deeply divided Senate, now narrowly controlled by Republicans, isn’t easy — and that’s the point, according to Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock.

“When Democrats had the presidency and a majority in both chambers, they were frustrated with the 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation. Senate Democrats attempted to end the filibuster to push through President Joe Biden’s agenda — an effort I fully supported during my 2022 campaign,” Fetterman wrote in the op-ed.

At the time, Fetterman said, he thought it was unlikely that Republicans then in the minority would ever find common ground with Democrats and, as a result, Democrats wouldn’t be able to “deliver results for working families.”

“Upon reflection, the pursuit of those short-term wins clouded the bigger picture and lasting impact of a Senate without the filibuster — a Senate that ignored the voices of the minority and everyday people,” Fetterman wrote.

Now with Republicans in control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, Fetterman said, “The (filibuster) rule is a critical line of defense that prevents President Donald Trump from having a fill-in-the-blank government with new laws, deregulation or procedures of its choosing.”

Over the weekend, Trump again called for Republicans in the Senate to “terminate the filibuster” so it can pass the SAVE America voting reform bill and other Trump-backed legislation, The Hill reported.

“Terminate the Filibuster, which the Dumocrats will do as soon as they get the chance, and PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, and everything else, including the Budget, and upcoming Debt Ceiling,” Trump wrote late Saturday on Truth Social. “Do it now, before it’s too late.”

Citing forecasts from Decision Desk HQ, The Hill reported Sunday that Democrats are favored to regain control of the House in the midterm elections but are slight underdogs to regain control in the Senate.

“If we win the Senate, we will not have enough votes to override the 60-vote threshold on our own and will once again have to find common ground with our Republican colleagues,” Fetterman wrote in his op-ed.

“We will need to abandon our worst impulses as a party and work together to find solutions to the problems Americans face,” he added.