I THOUGHT REPUBLICANS WERE AGAINST UNILATERAL DISARMAMENT: McConnell Pledges Legislative Filibuster Is Here to Stay.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell guaranteed Tuesday that there will not be an effort to change the debate rules surrounding legislation, even as senators are hurtling towards a rule change on Supreme Court nominees.

“There’s no sentiment to change the legislative filibuster,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters at his weekly press conference. Asked if he was committing to not changing the rules to end debate on legislation while he is the GOP leader, McConnell said, “Correct.”

Requiring 60 votes to invoke cloture, or end debate, on legislation is a unique characteristic of the Senate, which has the effect of requiring some bipartisan support or agreement to move legislation forward. Senators often argue that changing the protocol for cutting off debate — the cloture rule — would fundamentally alter the nature of the chamber.

McConnell has signaled he is prepared to change the cloture rule relating to Supreme Court nominations so that President Donald Trump’s high court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, can advance by a simple majority vote. This week McConnell is expected to employ the so-called nuclear option and effectively change the Senate rules by a majority vote, rather than two-thirds of the senators who are present and voting.

But Sen. John McCain, who had pushed against previous uses of the nuclear option, was not terribly optimistic about the legislative filibuster’s future.

“I can’t say with confidence, and I’m afraid we’re on a slippery slope,” the Arizona Republican said. “Benjamin Franklin somewhere is turning over because he’s the one that advocated for the role of the Senate.”

Franklin wasn’t talking about the filibuster. And I’m positive that our next Senate Majority Leader, Kamala Harris, won’t be so generous. We no longer have the trust, thanks to Harry Reid, to believe that Democrats won’t undo the filibuster the next time they’re in the majority. So the main question is, are the Republicans suckers?

Also, if McCain believes that eliminating the filibuster means we effectively have a unicameral legislature, well . . . he’s just as dumb as I think he is.