A filibuster is a legislative tactic used in the Senate—by a small group of Senators, sometimes even only one. This is used to delay or prevent a bill from passing by talking for so long that the majority will grant concessions or withdraw the bill entirely. This practice is rarely used but can be seen in both 100 years ago and present day. Some relevant filibusters may include Senator Strom Thurmond’s 24 hour filibuster of 1957 in relation to the civil rights movement, or Senator Wendy Davis’ 11 hour filibuster of 2013 in relation to abortion.
For Sen. Strom in preparation of this filibuster he would take steam baths everyday to dehydrate his body so it could absorb fluids without having to leave the room for the bathroom. This bill was for a bill in support of desegregation. So we can see in the past even as this Senator was a Democrat, the view points in support of suppressing minorities have greatly changed within the party.
In 2013 for Sen. Wendy Davis, who prepared using a urinary catheter, a back brace, and a pair of pink running shoes as she stepped onto the floor. In Texas, where this took place Senators are not allowed to lean on anything during these long talks, so this preparation was necessary. She spoke for 11 hours to prevent a bill that would restrict abortions for women in Texas, not allowing them to get an abortion after 20 weeks. Only ending her time on a technicality of going off topic. Wendy who consistently advocated in women’s rights, connecting to her own personal experience as she became a single mother at 19; even so putting herself through Harvard Law School, has paved the way for the women’s rights many have now.
Back to current times, this Wednesday into Thursday (Feb 5th-6th) Democratic Senators led an overnight speech in opposition to the confirmation of Russel Vought, Trump’s prior head of Office of Budget and Management (ODM), who is once again in line to be appointed again. Vought is a Trump loyalist as you can assume but in addition to that wrote a portion of Project 2025 and became a leader in the right-wing road-map. Within the writing of Project 2025, it is stated that things such as Medicaid, Social Security, School Assistance, Veteran funding, and more is something that Project 2025 promotes cutting, and as head of ODM Vought could put those plans into action. In addition to these harmful notions Vought promotes, he is also a denier of the 2020 election, claiming it to be illegitimate.
Despite the Democrats attempts within this overnight filibuster a party-line vote of 53-47 confirmed Vought into office. After this vote Vought took to X, formerly Twitter bought by the now current owner Elon Musk; who is in a multitude of controversies at the moment. When Vought went to X he wrote, “The president’s budget is in fact a powerful mechanism for setting and enforcing public policy at federal agencies.” In addition to this in the past Vought has defended Christian Nationalism within a 2011 Newsweek column stating it as an “orientation for engaging in the public square that recognizes America as a Christian nation, where our rights and duties are understood to come from god.”
Now that Vought has been confirmed many Democrats fear for the future, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Shcumer said, “He’s the chief architect of Project 2025. He is going to make Project 2025 the official policy of the federal government. And at the OMB, he has the power to implement it.” As Trump’s presidency progresses many changes will continue to arise, new bills, new decisions, and perhaps more filibusters.