{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-sen-tommy-tuberville-its-time-to-end-the-filibuster/", "ICYMI: Sen. Tommy Tuberville: It\u2019s Time To End The Filibuster", "2025-12-01", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Tommy Tuberville", "T000278", "www.tuberville.senate.gov", "tuberville", "https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) penned an op-ed in Breitbart calling for the Senate to eliminate the filibuster. In the piece, Sen. Tuberville explains his reasoning for ending the filibuster and proposes a list of \u201cAmerica First\u201d policy directives for Senate Republicans to carry out once the filibuster is dissolved.\n\nRead Sen. Tuberville\u2019s op-ed below or the full piece HERE.\n\n\u201cThe Republican Party has often positioned itself as the party of \u201cconservatism.\u201d However, over the past two decades or so, many establishment Republicans have been virtually indistinguishable from Democrats. That\u2019s why we find ourselves $38 trillion in debt with nothing to show for it.\n\nBut thanks to President Donald J. Trump, the Deep State establishment has received an eviction notice. President Trump has recruited a new wave of \u201cAmerica First\u201d lawmakers\u2014men and women who came to Washington to fight for the American people, not the D.C. Swamp. Trump showed Republicans that political change isn\u2019t won by punting on fourth down, it\u2019s won by actually moving the ball downfield.\n\nPresident Trump has his work cut out for him as he tries to dig America out of the deep hole the Biden administration got us into over the past four years. Congressional Republicans must deliver on the \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda that 77 million Americans voted for in November 2024. But to do that, Republicans need to get organized. We\u2019ve been too hesitant, too worried about offending someone, and too content to keep calling conservative plays while Democrats don\u2019t play by the rules and are willing to do whatever it takes to shove their woke agenda down our throats.\n\nIf Republicans want to put real wins on the board for the American people, it starts with ending the Senate filibuster. I know this is controversial. But the truth is, if it weren\u2019t for two former Democrat Senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, Democrats would have already blown it up last time they were in power. The hard truth is that if Republicans don\u2019t do it now, the radical Democrats will end the filibuster the moment they retake control of the Senate. Then they will immediately cement their woke agenda into law, including things like packing the Supreme Court, destroying our borders, mandating electric vehicles, and allowing abortion up until the day of birth.\n\nThe filibuster was never supposed to be what it has become today. In the 1800s, it started as a Senate tradition used to allow extended debate. Debate would continue until a simple majority voted to end it. That changed in 1917 when the Cloture Rule was created, which required a two-thirds vote to end debate. In the 1970s, the threshold was lowered to 60 votes where it remains today.\n\nOver time, the filibuster has gone from a way to facilitate meaningful debate to a tool that greatly expands the power of a single Senator. So, it\u2019s not really surprising that some of my colleagues are determined to keep it\u2014it\u2019s all about power. For example, Democrats recently used the filibuster to shut down the government for 43 days. The filibuster allowed them to withhold paychecks from troops, veterans, law enforcement, and air traffic controllers. Democrats despise President Trump and will do whatever it takes to slow him down. Expect government shutdowns to become the new normal as Democrats have made it clear they\u2019d rather screw over our troops than let President Trump succeed.\n\nOnce it\u2019s gone, our top priority must be restoring election integrity. That means requiring American citizens to show identification before casting a ballot and abolishing universal mail-in ballots. Millions of Americans believe the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump. Massive fraud occurred, and we cannot allow it to happen again. Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House. We should be working around the clock to shore up our elections ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential elections.\n\nAnother major obstacle to the \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda is the wave of activist judges weaponizing lawfare against the Trump administration. Unelected judges should not have the power to override the will of 77 million Americans who sent Trump back to the White House. Time and again, when President Trump tries to deliver on a promise, Democrat activist judges swoop in to block it.\n\nRepublicans must end the filibuster if we have any hope of keeping a Supreme Court that respects the Constitution. If we fail, Democrats have already said what they will do when they regain power: pack the courts with radicals who will disregard the Constitution altogether. James Carville, who many consider to be a \u201cnormal\u201d Democrat, is openly admitting that this is Democrats\u2019 playbook.\n\nThe horrific shooting of two National Guard soldiers by a deranged Afghan terrorist in D.C. last week made it clear that we should immediately ban all immigration from the Middle East and North Africa. Europe has shown what happens when mass migration from majority Islamic countries goes unchecked. Entire neighborhoods are now ruled by Sharia law. If you don\u2019t think this can happen in America next, you\u2019re not paying attention. The reality is millions of Islamist immigrants are already here. Many of these people are gaming the system\u2014taking advantage of our free schools, healthcare, and SNAP benefits\u2014all while chanting \u201cdeath to America\u201d and refusing to assimilate. The days of America being a safe harbor for the entire world at the expense of American citizens are over. We need to deport every Islamist who was allowed to come here under the Biden administration. If we don\u2019t act now, the United States will end up the \u201cUnited Caliphate of America.\u201d\n\nDemocrats widely mocked Project 2025 during the last election\u2014but I think the conservatives who put that together were on to something. President Trump made very clear promises on the campaign trail and the American people overwhelmingly voted him into office. Not only that, but the American people entrusted Republicans with control of the House and Senate to help implement the President\u2019s agenda. There is no reason why we should not be delivering on the President\u2019s promises instead of letting Democrats obstruct at every turn.\n\nThis is fourth-and-goal with the clock running out. Republicans can either run the ball up the middle and fight for the win or kneel and hand the country over to radical Democrats. It\u2019s time to run the winning play, and that play starts with ending the filibuster.\u201d\n\nSenator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans\u2019 Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-sen-tommy-tuberville-its-time-to-end-the-filibuster/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2276360541582108, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}