The filibuster is suddenly the Democratic Party’s new best friend. But it can’t be used on everything:
The Congressional Review Act….allows Congress to repeal any regulations — that were issued within the final 60 legislative days of the previous session — by a simple majority vote….Next year, Republicans will have 45 legislative days to repeal the 180 regulations that took effect between May 17 and last week. The party is highly unlikely to tackle all of those. But Republican lawmakers do have their sights set on an EPA rule that limits greenhouse-gas emissions from commercial trucks and buses, and on a Labor Department rule that gave millions of new workers eligibility for overtime pay, according to USA Today.
It’s worth noting that there are lots of ways to slow things down in the Senate that don’t depend on the filibuster. Mitch McConnell was pretty good at using them, and I imagine Chuck Schumer is too. This is why Republicans have to pick and choose their battles. Every bill, every confirmation, every motion takes up floor time. The more Schumer slows things down, the fewer things the Senate can do. There are lots of people who are under the impression that President Trump can demolish American society in his first hundred days, and they’re going to be disappointed to find out that’s not true. They’re going to have to prioritize.
