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Filibuster -US
The U.S. Senate filibuster rule remains in effect, generally requiring 60 votes to end debate on most legislation (known as invoking cloture). There have been no recent changes to the rule, despite renewed calls to eliminate it during the October 2025 government shutdown. 

Current Status and Latest Developments
  • 60-Vote Threshold Intact: The long-standing rule that "three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn" (usually 60 out of 100 senators) are needed to stop a filibuster and bring a bill to a vote is still the active rule for most legislation.
  • Trump's Calls for Elimination: During the 2025 federal government shutdown, then-President Donald Trump publicly urged Republicans to use the "nuclear option" (changing Senate rules by a simple majority vote) to eliminate the filibuster and pass a funding bill without Democratic support.
  • Republican Leaders' Pushback: Top Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, quickly dismissed Trump's calls, reaffirming their support for the 60-vote threshold as an important institutional check.
  • Continued Political Tool: The filibuster remains a powerful legislative tool that allows the minority party to block bills, a dynamic evident in the ongoing political standoffs and the 2025 government shutdown, where a Republican-led spending bill failed because it couldn't reach the 60-vote supermajority.
  • No Recent Rule Changes: The last significant vote to change the legislative filibuster was on January 19, 2022, when an attempt by Democrats to create a carve-out for voting rights legislation failed due to a lack of unanimous support within their caucus. 
In short, the filibuster is alive and well in the U.S. Senate, and while there is ongoing debate about its future, the rules have not changed.

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