Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania reversed his position on the Senate filibuster, publishing an op-ed in The Washington Post on July 27 saying Democrats were “horribly wrong” to attempt eliminating the 60-vote rule during the Biden administration. Fetterman, who campaigned in 2022 on scrapping the filibuster to advance Democratic priorities, now argues it serves as a critical defense against Republican-led policies under the Trump administration.
“It’s not often you hear someone in D.C. admit they were wrong, let alone horribly wrong — and the entire Democratic Party was, including me,” Fetterman wrote. He explained that he once believed ending the filibuster was necessary to deliver results for working families but has come to recognize its value in forcing legislative compromise.
Fetterman’s reversal marks a striking shift from his 2022 Senate campaign, when he promised to eliminate the filibuster as a barrier to passing Biden’s agenda. During that period, Senate Democrats, including Fetterman, pushed to end the 60-vote threshold that allows the minority party to block legislation. The effort ultimately failed when Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona refused to support the change, blocking voting rights legislation in January 2022.
In his op-ed, Fetterman praised Manchin and Sinema, who faced fierce criticism from fellow Democrats for defending the filibuster. “History has vindicated former senators Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) and Joe Manchin III (West Virginia), two people who were vilified by the Democratic Party for their support of the filibuster,” he wrote. He acknowledged that their “courageous efforts damaged their political careers” but credited them with preserving a Senate rule that now protects Democratic interests.
Fetterman pointed to the Trump administration’s legislative agenda as evidence the filibuster’s value. He cited the SAVE America Act, a voter identification measure Trump has championed, as an example of legislation that would have easily passed without the filibuster. He also noted that without the 60-vote threshold, Republicans could have enacted nationwide abortion restrictions, repealed birthright citizenship, and implemented other provisions from Project 2025, the conservative policy framework.
“The one thing that has stopped many unpopular policies since the beginning of 2025 isn’t the Democrats — it is the filibuster,” Fetterman wrote. He argued that even with the filibuster intact, Democrats and Republicans achieved significant bipartisan wins during the Biden years, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and legislation to help veterans exposed to burn pits.
Fetterman’s op-ed also addressed the Democratic Party’s current position on the filibuster. He warned that if Democrats regain Senate control in the 2026 midterm elections, they will need to work across the aisle and cannot pass legislation on party lines alone. “We will need to abandon our worst impulses as a party and work together to find solutions to the problems Americans face,” he wrote, echoing the language Manchin used to defend the rule.
The Pennsylvania senator’s reversal reflects a broader shift among some Democrats who now view the filibuster as a protective mechanism rather than an obstacle. Earlier in 2026, Fetterman had already begun signaling his change of heart, saying in June that it was “wrong” for Democrats to attempt eliminating the filibuster during the Biden administration. His latest op-ed represents his most explicit and detailed defense of the rule since entering the Senate in 2023.
Sources
- The Washington Post — Fetterman’s op-ed “Why I changed my mind about the filibuster,” published July 27, 2026, with his full explanation of his reversal and defense of the 60-vote rule
- Politico — Coverage of Fetterman’s statement that Democrats were “horribly wrong” to attempt eliminating the filibuster, with context on his reasoning
- The Hill — Reporting on Fetterman’s June 2026 statements calling the Democratic effort to eliminate the filibuster “wrong”
- USA Today — Coverage of Fetterman’s flip-flop on the filibuster despite his 2022 campaign position advocating for its elimination
- PBS NewsHour — Historical reporting on the January 2022 vote when Senate Democrats failed to change filibuster rules, blocked by Sinema and Manchin
- Washington Post — Historical context on Biden and Harris’s 2022 push for filibuster reform to pass voting rights legislation
