Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is facing competing pressure points as he weighs one of the biggest questions he’ll face if Democrats win back the majority: Whether or not to nuke the filibuster.
Democrats—increasingly within striking distance of regaining the Senate — are plotting an ambitious agenda if they have control of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2010.
But the 60-vote legislative filibuster stands in the way of some of the biggest items on their to-do list, including ethics and election reform, immigration, healthcare and climate change legislation.
Schumer is under fierce pressure from progressives, both on and off Capitol Hill, to nix the filibuster. They argue keeping it intact gives Republicans a veto on their agenda.