The changes are intended to ease the pervasive gridlock in the Senate. Reid, McConnell reach filibuster deal

Senate leaders agreed Thursday on a grand deal to reform filibusters that does little to end the practices that got the filibuster reform movement started in the first place: the ability of individual senators to block legislation or nominations and force the majority party to find 60 votes to get anything done.

In true Senate fashion, the deal first and foremost averts a potential partisan showdown known by critics as the “nuclear option” where Democrats were preparing to muscle through a series of changes on a party-line basis — something that could have had dramatic repercussions for the future of the Senate.


( PHOTOS: Longest filibusters in history)

The Senate on Thursday night overwhelmingly voted to adopt the rules changes in two separate packages, in a rare feat of bipartisanship in a deeply divided Capitol.

By a 78-16 vote, the Senate adopted a two-year deal intended to give Republicans a minimum number of amendments during floor debate, but limiting their ability to filibuster efforts to begin debate on legislation. It also will limit dilatory tactics on lower-tiered judicial and executive branch nominees.

( Earlier on POLITICO: Reid threatens to nuke filibuster)

And by an 86-9 vote, the Senate made permanent changes to the rules to quickly schedule legislation in situations where there’s consensus on legislation — and limited stalling tactics to prevent Senate talks from convening with the House.

Most of the opposing senators on both votes were Republicans.

President Barack Obama said he was pleased the Senate took action to move routine measures along.

“Too often over the past four years, a single senator or a handful of senators has been able to unilaterally block or delay bipartisan legislation for the sole purpose of making a political point,” Obama, a former senator, said in a statement Thursday night. “At a time when we face critical decisions on a whole range of issues – from preventing further gun violence, to reforming our broken immigration system, to getting our fiscal house in order and creating good paying jobs – we cannot afford unnecessary obstruction.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell praised making the changes through a consensus vote.

“This is important, above all, because it means that the voices of the members of the minority party and their constituents will still be heard in the Senate,” McConnell said in a statement. “Taking away that right, as some had threatened, would have been a terrible mistake.”

The plan falls short of demands from a number of reform-minded Democratic senators. A group of Democrats including Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tom Harkin of Iowa were seeking to push through a wider-ranging proposal, including forcing senators to go to the floor and actually talk and hold the floor, like in the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” rather than simply threaten a filibuster.

Instead, the deal reached by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) focuses on limiting the ability to stall action at the very beginning of debate and after a bill has passed the Senate and before negotiations begin with the House.

It would limit the GOP’s use of the filibuster but ensure the minority party has the right to offer amendments on the floor.

How well the plan works could depend much on how Reid and McConnell get along.

The deal gives two ways to short-circuit filibusters to stop the Senate from even debating a bill.

One path for immediately beginning debate would occur if Reid allowed both Democrats and Republicans to offer two amendments each to legislation. If the amendments were not relevant to the bill, they would be subject to a 60-vote threshold. Reid could block further amendments after votes to either accept or kill those four measures. This rule would sunset at the end of the 113th Congress.

On non-controversial bills, if Reid, McConnell and 14 other senators reach agreement, votes to overcome filibusters would happen the day after Reid files a procedural motion — rather than the two-day rule that exists now. And after the filibuster is defeated in those consensus situations, the Senate could immediately begin debate, rather than wait out a full 30 hours required under current rules. This would be a permanent change of the rules.

The two men would have to decide what bill or nomination is “non-controversial,” leaving plenty of room for partisan maneuvering.

Still, Reid believes the plan is a start to help break the filibuster rules critics say prevents the body from responding to major national crises — while keeping with the Senate’s traditions of ensuring senators can make the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” live up to its name.

For weeks, Reid had threatened to change the rules by 51 votes — known by critics as the nuclear option — that many feared would have encouraged future Senate majorities to easily change rules designed to empower the minority party.

The two-year plan also aims to prevent opponents from blocking relatively non-controversial presidential nominations, limiting the time to debate subcabinet and district court nominations from 30 hours to eight hours after a filibuster has been defeated. A top priority for Reid, the proposal would limit the number of filibusters from three to one that could be waged to prevent conferences from convening with the House, a permanent change of the rules.

Moreover, the two leaders have sought to modify how filibusters are actually carried out. If a senator objects, Senate leaders — or senators leading floor debate — can demand that those who are objecting come to the floor to make their concerns heard. If a senator does not agree to speed debate in certain situations, the Senate will force live quorum calls that would compel senators attendance on the floor. But it would not change the rules to do so.

All told, the changes are intended to ease the pervasive gridlock in the Senate and mollify Democratic concerns that Republicans have mounted silent filibusters to block action, and Republican concerns that Reid has prevented their amendments from being considered.

Outside groups who have been pushing for more sweeping changes were upset at the deal.

“If the agreement proceeds as expected, Senator Reid and the entire chamber will have missed an opportunity to restore accountability and deliberation to the Senate, while not raising the costs of obstruction,” said a coalition of outside groups called, Fix the Senate Now.