Senate Democrats who want to reform the filibuster may have found an unlikely ally: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).
“I’ve got a problem with the assumption here that somehow the Senate can be a place for legislation to go into a cul-de-sac or dead end,” Cantor told reporters this morning.
He’s referring specifically, of course, to the Repealing the Job Killing Health Care Law Act, which the House will pass tonight. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says the bill is a partisan exercise, and a non-starter — thus, Cantor and other Republicans want the upper chamber to discover its populist side.
“Leader Reid continues to say that he is not going to bring this up for a vote in the Senate,” Cantor added. “The American people deserve a full hearing. They deserve to see this legislation go to the Senate for a full vote.”
It was not always so! Under Democratic control last Congress, the GOP used the Senate as a bulwark against the Democratic agenda. Its supermajority customs allowed Republicans to delay, weaken, or nix most of President Obama’s significant priorities.
Now that Republicans control the House, priorities have shifted. This is timeless stuff, but it’s always fun to watch it happen in real time.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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