Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Republicans would take full advantage of a “talking filibuster” if Democrats changed Senate rules Wednesday night.
The idea was proposed by President Joe Biden in a Tuesday night interview and would make it so Senators would have to continuously talk on the floor, without leaving, to hold up legislation. Graham went on Fox News to explain that he would walk around talking until he fell over to prevent certain legislation from passing.
“Here’s what Biden needs to understand: If you go to the talking filibuster, we will take the floor to stop H.R.1.,” Graham said, mentioning H.R. 1, also known as the “For The People Act,” which contains legislation including federal election laws, voter eligibility, social media and much more.
“I would talk ’til I fell over to make sure we don’t go to ballot harvesting and voting by mail without ID,” he said. “I would talk ’til I fell over to make sure that the Equality Act doesn’t become law, destroying the difference between a man and woman in our law,” Graham added.
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Biden suggested Tuesday that he would support changes to the Senate filibuster, saying that he would back a rule that required objecting lawmakers to be on the floor. (RELATED: Biden Suggests He Is Open To Restoring Traditional Filibuster, Would Require Continued Speaking)
“I don’t think you have to eliminate the filibuster,” Biden said in an interview with ABC News. “You have to do it what it used to be when I first got to the Senate back in the old days. … You had to stand up and command the floor, you had to keep talking.” (RELATED: ‘Not In Your Best Interest’: McConnell Says He Said ‘No’ When Trump Wanted To End Senate Filibuster)
As Democrats control the House, Senate and White House, there has been discussion about possibly voting to eliminate the filibuster. Abolishing the filibuster would allow any legislation to pass with a simple majority.