“Chuck Schumer’s Daunting Quest to ‘Restore the Senate'”

Behind the scenes, could there be progress on the FTVA and the JLVRAA? With respect to redistricting, note that it’s immaterial that some states have already enacted district plans. Under its near-plenary authority over congressional elections, Congress is free to impose new redistricting requirements. Enacted congressional plans that fail to comply with those requirements would simply be unlawful.

December is a jam-packed month for the Senate, with the legislative Advent calendar including such treats as must-pass government funding and defense authorization bills and President Joe Biden’s social spending, tax, and climate bill. But in the midst of considering these priorities, Senate Democrats are also mulling how they can pass critical voting rights legislation without destroying the filibuster.

This search for some middle ground between “doing nothing at all” and “going nuclear on a long-standing procedural rule” has been euphemistically referred to as “restoring the Senate” by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, harkening backto a bygone era of functionality in the upper chamber. In his November letter to Democratic colleagues outlining the hefty end-of-year to-do list for the Senate, Schumer said that the fight to pass voting rights legislation remained one of his top priorities. Republicans have blocked several bills related to voting and elections brought by Democrats this year, a feat made possible by their persistent use of the filibuster.

“Even if it means going at it alone, we will continue to fight for voting rights and work to find an alternative path forward to defend the most fundamental liberty we have as citizens. To that end, a number of our colleagues—with my full support—have been discussing ideas for how to restore the Senate to protect our democracy,” Schumer said.

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