Senator Ron Johnson: Time to End Senate Filibuster

0:00On March 26, Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin is pushing Republicans to end the Senate filibuster. He says his time for a big change to cut through the gridlock that's plagued Washington for years. After 15 years in the Senate, this fiscal conservative now views the filibuster as a major roadblock to getting anything done. Johnson explained in a recent opinion piece that his thinking has evolved since he first arrived in 2011. He used to see the Senate as a cooling off spot for hot legislation, but now he calls it a source of total dysfunction that stalls even basic debate. The filibuster now demands 60 votes just to start talking about most bills, which wasn't the original plan. This has led to constant delays on spending bills, endless short-term fixes, and a ballooning national debt that nobody can tackle. Inside the Republican Party, opinions split between those ready to ditch the filibuster before Democrats do it first and others who want to hold off. President Donald Trump backed Johnson by sharing his piece and posting a call to terminate

1:01the filibuster right away. Johnson argues that without this change, nothing improves, and it might even push lawmakers toward real bipartisan deals that last. With the Senate in such chaos, he's ready for that shift now.