Racket

Swamp Log — The SAVE Act, Civil Rights Filibuster, and ‘What The F*ck Is Cloture?’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former President Lyndon B. Johnson (Photos by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images, William Lovelace/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Matt sent a text this week discussing ideas for Swamp Log, suggesting: “You could do a piece titled, ‘What the fuck is cloture?’” When I started covering the Senate last year, I was introduced to the ubiquitous term: CLOTURE. A frantic Google search early in my first day on the hill explained that cloture in the U.S. Senate ends debate, breaking a filibuster. OK… but how does it work? Is it in the Constitution? What are its implications? Why do some votes require the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture, and some don’t? Enter the SAVE America Act, President Donald Trump’s controversial voter ID legislation. Advocates of the bill began to call for the Republican majority to force a “talking filibuster” to pass the legislation — but what exactly did a “talking filibuster” entail? Interest in Senate rules became timely. The arcane procedures of the House and Senate are deliberately kept a mystery from constituents. Some members, like Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, are former state legislators, and were raised in politics through interminable, little-attended statehouse exchanges. They understand the stage-managing of politics. Some bills emerge from committee with a wink, allowing members to jockey for public position for a bit, all the time knowing it will be killed procedurally. In other cases the outcome is less certain and Republicans and Democrats use rules as leverage for the horse-trading process that takes place when a bill is likely to pass, which seems more the case now. My idea with the Swamp Log going forward is to take readers on a guided tour of how Washington works, starting with the filibuster. For my own education, and hopefully yours, we’ll use this space to break down the Senate’s tradition of unlimited debate, and the SAVE America Act’s perilous relationship with the filibuster. WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), accompanied by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) (L), and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) (R) speaks to reporters following a Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol Building on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) LUKEWARM DEBATE TO SAVE AMERICA The SAVE America Act is emblematic of Republican politics in 2026. President Donald Trump has described the legislation as his number one priority, and called loudly and often on Majority Leader John Thune to nuke the filibuster and change Senate rules to allow a simple majority to pass legislation. Read more