Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe the Republican-controlled Senate will alter the rules to help pass the GOP healthcare plan.
"No. This is something that requires us to get to some consensus," Franken said on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe." "And I don’t think [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell wants to do that, either. I don’t think there’s much taste for that in the Senate, either."
President Donald Trump, a Republican, urged the GOP to change the rules of the Senate to allow a majority vote to pass the party’s healthcare and tax reform bills. The current Senate rules state that three-fifths, or 60, members of the chamber must agree to end debate and begin voting on a measure.
The Senate previously used what’s been called the "nuclear option" for the nomination of Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch in April, in response to a Democratic fillibuster. At the time, McConnell told USA Today that while he approved the decision for a judicial nominee, he would not for legislation.
"The core of the Senate is the legislative filibuster," he said. "This notion that this somehow bleeds over into the legislative filibuster is untrue. I'm opposed to it ... I think that's what fundamentally changes the Senate."
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