Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has reversed his position on abolishing the filibuster as Senate Republicans work to pass the SAVE America Act.
Fetterman penned an op-ed on Tuesday for The Washington Post in which he advocates for preserving the practice after he argued in favor of eliminating it when Democrats had control of the upper chamber.
“When Democrats had the presidency and a majority in both chambers, they were frustrated with the 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation,” the senator wrote. “Senate Democrats attempted to end the filibuster to push through President Joe Biden’s agenda — an effort I fully supported during my 2022 campaign.”
But now, Fetterman said he recognizes “how important the filibuster is and the state our country would be in without it.”
No delays and no excuses.
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) June 27, 2026
Next time Democrats have power, we must restore voting rights, abolish the filibuster, and reform the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/GSSJ6ggzRL
I thought ending the filibuster was necessary to deliver results for working families. I thought it was unlikely for Republicans in the minority to find common ground on legislation Democrats were proposing. I thought Democrats were not being ruthless the way Republicans were, and we needed to be on that level if we were going to relieve the anger that voters were feeling.
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.
History has vindicated former senators Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) and Joe Manchin III (West Virginia), two people who were vilified by the Democratic Party for their support of the filibuster and whose courageous efforts damaged their political careers. The 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.
Fetterman further notes that Senate Democrats were able to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other types of legislation even with the filibuster intact and that they “could not have passed these important pieces of legislation along party lines and had to work across the aisle.”
He noted that Republicans winning back control of the Senate “quickly showed how chaotic a simple majority vote could be in the Senate” and that “if Americans are horrified now, imagine what could be law today if Democrats had eliminated the filibuster.”
The senator referred to the SAVE America Act, which he opposes, and argues that “We could have extreme policies such as nationwide abortion restrictions, backpedaling on LGBT rights, repeal of birthright citizenship and limited voting rights across the country.”
𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐀 𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐓 “𝐉𝐈𝐌 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐂”
— M.A. Rothman (@MichaelARothman) July 28, 2026
In 2020 Barack Obama branded the filibuster a 𝘑𝘪𝘮 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤. In 2022 Chuck Schumer led 47 Democrats to blow it up, and John Fetterman ran… pic.twitter.com/GZplYja5sT
He concludes by arguing that the filibuster is “one of the best features of the Senate” because it forces Republicans and Democrats to work together.
When Democrats held the presidency and a Senate majority under President Joe Biden, most members of the party sought to abolish or weaken the legislative filibuster to advance their agenda over Republican opposition.
If it were any other Democrat reversing course on the filibuster, I’d assume they were motivated by political expediency. That could still be true of Fetterman. But the fact that he has often bucked his party based on the principles he espouses, it’s also possible this is a sincere plea.
Still, his fellow Democrats won’t agree with him on this. President Donald Trump has insisted repeatedly that whenever Democrats regain the Senate, they will eliminate the filibuster, which is why he is pressuring Senate Republicans to preempt them on this.
Either way, the filibuster is on borrowed time. Either Republicans will abolish it, or they will see Democrats kill it the moment they have the chance.
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