Moreno on Senate Rules Reform: Lawmakers Should Debate or Ax Filibuster

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said if lawmakers are unable to conduct real debate and defend their positions, the U.S. Senate should terminate the filibuster.

Moreno spoke about reforming Senate rules and nuking the filibuster during a Breitbart News Fight Club Roundtable hosted by Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow and Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle. President Donald Trump has called on the GOP to end the filibuster — which would drop the 60 required votes to pass legislation in the U.S. Senate to just 51 votes — in order to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require citizens to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote while also implementing Voter ID.

An audience member asked Moreno about whether there could be a new Senate majority leader if Republicans maintain a Senate majority in the 2026 midterm elections. Boyle noted that there has been a lot of “base frustration” aimed at Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) because of the Senate’s inability to push the House-passed Save America Act across the finish line. Thune has said repeatedly that Republicans lack the votes to nuke the filibuster.

“We’ll have leadership elections a week after election day. I hope the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is the committee in charge of finding new candidates, makes sure that we have the resources for those candidates to win. In terms of the majority leader, you know, one of the things that I think is extraordinarily important for everybody to understand is that as majority leader, John Thune does not have the power to hire senators, to fire senators, to reprimand senators, cut their pay, or in any way discipline them. So, he has to use the power of persuasion. And look, unfortunately, there are some senators in our conference that aren’t on board with what we believe the future of the Republican Party should be,” Moreno replied. 

“But that’s not John Thune’s fault. He’s having to manage that, and at the same time, manage historic obstruction from Democrats. But, as I said earlier, I do think it’s important that we look at Senate rules and say, ‘What are some Senate rules that definitely need to be changed given the environment we’re in,'” he added. 

Moreno urged fellow lawmakers to be “open-minded” and said if the upper chamber keeps the filibuster, then lawmakers “have to have actual debate.”  

“The American people deserve to hear their elected leaders argue different points of view,” he said. “If you have a perspective, like if Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wants to talk about why people shouldn’t have to have an ID to vote, have him make that case in a debate format so that the American people can see it. If he thinks his state, Connecticut, should be issuing driver’s licenses to illegals so that they — illegals — can go to school that we pay for and a job that would replace an American worker or suppress their wage, have him make that case.”

“But if we’re not going to have debate, there can’t be a filibuster,” he continued. 

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.

To attend the next Breitbart Fight Club roundtable event—where you can interact LIVE with the nation’s top leaders and ask them YOUR questions—join the Breitbart Fight Club at the “Middleweight” membership level, billed annually.