A filibuster is a tactic used in the United States Senate to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. The Senate's rules place few restrictions on debate; in general, if no other senator is … See more

The current procedure for invoking cloture is as follows:
• A minimum of 16 senators must sign a cloture motion that … See more

In addition to reducing the cloture threshold to a simple majority (either wholly or for certain matters), several procedural alternatives have been proposed to modify or reform the filibuster rule.
Talking filibuster See more

While extended debate is the traditional form of a filibuster in the Senate, other means of delaying and killing legislation are available. Because the Senate routinely conducts … See more

Constitutional design
Only a small number of supermajority requirements were explicitly included in the original United States Constitution, including conviction … See more

The modern-era filibuster—and the resulting 60-vote supermajority requirement—has had significant policy and political effects … See more

Senate rules can be changed by a simple majority vote. Nevertheless, under current Senate rules, an amendment to the rules could itself be filibustered, with a vote of two-thirds of the senators present and voting needed to invoke cloture on a measure amending … See more