Mike Lee Takes Aim at the ‘Zombie Filibuster’,’ And the Swamp Is Nervous [WATCH]

Sen. Mike Lee outlined his criticism of the modern filibuster and called for reforms to restore what he described as the Senate’s original tradition of open, sustained debate, arguing that the current system has been distorted into a procedural shortcut that bypasses discussion rather than encouraging it.

Lee said he has received repeated questions about what he calls the “zombie filibuster” and how it operates in today’s Senate.

He explained that the filibuster has existed for as long as the Senate itself, originally serving as a mechanism to ensure unlimited debate on legislation.

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“Okay, I’m getting a lot of questions about the zombie filibuster, what it means and how we break it,” Lee said.

“First of all, let’s talk about what the filibuster is. The filibuster has existed as long as the Senate has existed. The idea behind it is to allow for and encourage open debate.”

Lee noted that for roughly the first 150 years of the Senate’s history, debate was largely unlimited, with proceedings continuing as long as at least one senator wished to speak.

That framework changed in 1917 with the adoption of the cloture rule, which allowed a supermajority of senators to vote to end debate.

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“It wasn’t until 1917 that the Senate adopted something known as the closure rule, allowing for a super majority of senators to vote to end debate,” Lee said.

According to Lee, the threshold to invoke cloture has steadily declined over time.

He said it was initially set at three-fourths of the Senate, later reduced to two-thirds, and eventually lowered to three-fifths, or 60 votes, where it remains today.

“That’s where we get the number 60 votes to bring debate to a close,” Lee said.

Lee argued that over time the filibuster has evolved into something it was never intended to be, effectively creating what many view as a 60-vote requirement to pass most legislation.

While acknowledging that this perception reflects some practical realities, Lee said it misrepresents the purpose of the rule.

“Over time, it’s morphed into something it was never intended to be,” Lee said.

“It’s turned into a de facto, what people perceive as a de facto, 60 vote requirement to pass most legislation.”

Lee said the cloture rule is now frequently used not to protect debate, but to avoid it altogether.

He described this as a fundamental problem that undermines the Senate’s deliberative role.

“In reality, it’s often used these days… not to protect debate, but to make it unnecessary, to obviate the need for it,” Lee said.

To address what he calls the “zombie filibuster,” Lee proposed requiring senators to actively participate in debate in order to maintain a filibuster.

He said senators currently benefit from the filibuster without having to physically or verbally engage in extended debate.

“So the key to ending the zombie filibuster is to make senators speak, make them actually debate,” Lee said.

Lee pointed to existing Senate rules, including the two-speech rule under Rule 22, which limits senators to speaking twice on the same legislative matter during a single legislative day.

He said enforcing these rules would restore accountability and bring debate to a natural conclusion through exhaustion.

“The point behind ending the zombie filibuster is very simple. It’s about exhaustion,” Lee said.

Once senators are either physically exhausted or have exhausted their allotted opportunities to speak under Senate rules, Lee said the chamber should proceed to a vote.

“When you get to that point of exhaustion… you call the question on the pending legislation,” Lee said.

“That legislation can then pass with a simple majority.”

Lee concluded by reiterating his support for reinstating the talking filibuster and ending what he described as filibustering without effort.

“That’s what we mean when we talk about the need to reinstate the talking filibuster and no longer defer unflinchingly to the zombie filibuster,” he said.

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