On CNN's “The Source” Friday, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Republicans “need Democratic votes” to end the government shutdown “due to the filibuster,” and he still wants to eliminate the filibuster, as he did back in 2021, because he believes the filibuster is harmful.
Smith stated that “because of the filibuster, now they need Democratic votes. The purpose of the filibuster is to force Democrats and Republicans to work together. But what Trump decided to do was no, the point is, we're not going to negotiate with you, you just have to vote for our cause. And that's not the way to approach it. If they want to put together a simple, 100% Republican budget, then, yes, they should get rid of the filibuster and move on and “Just get the Republicans to vote for it. But the best option is to negotiate with the Democrats, deal with the health care crisis, reopen the government and stop the pain that is happening to many Americans and, as you said, will only get worse.”
Host Jim Sciutto then asked, “Let me ask you this, because you wrote back in May 2021, when Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, you wrote“It’s time to get rid of the filibuster to build a more just and equal nation.” Would you — would you still take the same position on the filibuster?
Smith responded: “Yes, as I said, I think that's part of the problem – as I said, the filibuster was created to force negotiations. At this point, it's very clear that that's not happening. And what it actually does is undermine democracy, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you win, you get power, and then you can't do anything. So I don't think the filibuster serves any particularly useful purpose in conditions are forced to negotiate, and this absolutely undermines democracy.”
Smith added that the filibuster “definitely causes harm.”
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