A mess of Republicans who swore they would never do anything like get rid of the filibuster for the Supreme Court and then promptly voted to do just that with Neil Gorsuch are now saying they'd never, ever get rid of it for legislation. Led by Susan Collins (R-ME), who is such a strong supporter of women's reproductive rights that she helped force Vice President Mike Pence to break a tie on bill curtailing Planned Parenthood and who then voted to end the filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee who will do everything in his power on the court to end Roe v. Wade. So take this with a block of salt.
Collins was seen on the floor circulating a draft letter among senators as Democrats voted to block Neil Gorsuch. That 55-45 vote teed up a precedent-setting rules change by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who used the “nuclear option” to allow high court nominees to advance in the Senate without clearing a 60-vote threshold. […]
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also signed Collins’ letter, though he took a dimmer view of its significance. “It’s a nice gesture, but meaningless,” McCain said. […]
“If senators are going to address the problems facing the nation and the world, we are going to first have to address the problems facing the United States Senate," Collins added. "Change will require restoring the unwritten ethos that has made this body a model for the world for 230 years. It is an ethos built upon trust, compromise, and restraint."
Look who else signed, right under Collins. Yes, that's Orrin Hatch. The guy who told President Obama that Merrick Garland would be a great Supreme Court nominee. The guy who said back in November, "I'm one of the biggest advocates for the filibuster. It’s the only way to protect the minority, and we’ve been in the minority a lot more than we’ve been in the majority. It’s just a great, great protection for the minority." Right. He also voted to end the filibuster on the Supreme Court.
The reality is, the days for the legislative filibuster are numbered, now that the granddaddy of filibusters is gone. Because there isn't a single Republican who is really going to resist it when McConnell says it has to happen. Look at McCain's quote up there. "It's a nice gesture, but meaningless." Think he's going to stand in the way.
Ultimately, it's not the end of the world, and there could be some good in it. If Republicans just do away with it now, Democrats can come back to the majority and enact some real reforms of it, the kinds of reforms Democratic Sens. Tom Udall and Jeff Merkley have been pushing for several years. Getting those smart reforms enacted will actually be easier if the filibuster has been abolished first.
And it won't be a vanity project then, like this one is for Collins.