Senator Kennedy Warns Eliminating Filibuster Will “Gut This Body Like a Fish,” Reveals Both Parties Said “No” to Trump

On 1/11/2022, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana delivered a passionate Senate floor speech warning that eliminating the filibuster would “gut this body like a fish” and transform the institution into “a scene out of Mad Max.” Kennedy revealed that when President Trump had demanded the same thing — change the filibuster, get rid of it — both Republicans and Democrats said no. Schumer, when confronted with his own 2005 defense of the filibuster, blamed the reversal on “two words: Donald Trump."

"We Said No — Republicans and Democrats”

Kennedy drew a direct parallel between Trump’s and Biden’s demands. “I remember when President Trump — now like President Biden — said, ‘Change the filibuster. Get rid of it. I can’t get my bills passed,’” Kennedy recounted. “We said no. And by we, I mean Republicans and Democrats.”

Kennedy held up a letter led by Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Chris Coons that he had personally signed. “Here’s the letter, right here,” Kennedy said. “We said no.”

The letter demonstrated that a majority of the current sitting Democratic senators had explicitly opposed eliminating the filibuster — the same senators now being asked to reverse course.

Schumer: “What Changed? Two Words — Donald Trump”

MSNBC played a clip of Schumer’s 2017 remarks defending the filibuster: “I hope the Republican leader and I can in the coming months find a way to build a firewall around the legislative filibuster, which is the most important distinction between the Senate and the House. Without the 60-vote threshold for legislation, the Senate becomes a majoritarian institution like the House.”

When asked what changed, Schumer’s answer was blunt: “What has changed is two words — Donald Trump.”

Kennedy then quoted Schumer’s even more emphatic 2005 remarks: “The checks and balances which say if you get 51 percent of the vote, you do not get your way 100 percent of the time. That is what we call abuse of power. There is unfortunately a whiff of extremism in the air.” Kennedy identified the speaker: “Those are words of wisdom by Senator Chuck Schumer, May 18, 2005."

"Gut This Body Like a Fish”

Kennedy delivered his sharpest warning about the consequences of changing the rules. “If we change the 60-vote threshold, if we change this institution, which is part of the institution of the United States Senate, it will gut this body like a fish,” Kennedy said. “Like a fish. And everybody in this body knows that if that is accomplished, our institution will look like a scene out of Mad Max.”

Kennedy explained why the 60-vote threshold existed. “America is a big, wide, open, diverse, sometimes dysfunctional, oftentimes imperfect, but good country with good people in it,” he said. “If you’re going to make a law that’s going to impact the entirety of this big, wide, open, diverse country, then you ought to have 60 votes. Because if you only have 51 votes, 51 percent of the vote does not get your way 100 percent of the time. And it’s worked for a long time.”

A Montage of Democratic Hypocrisy

The video compiled a series of Democratic quotes defending the filibuster when they were in the minority:

Biden in 2005: “We should make no mistake. This nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power. It is a fundamental power grab by the majority party.”

Schumer in 2005: “They want to make this country into a banana republic, where if you don’t get your way, you change the rules.”

Multiple Democratic senators on record: “The legislative filibuster should stay there and I will personally resist efforts to get rid of it.” “I’m committed to never voting to change the legislative filibuster.” “That would be the end of the Senate.” “You cannot change the rules in the middle of the game because you do not like the outcome.”

Kennedy Acknowledges the Frustration

Kennedy closed by acknowledging that the desire to eliminate the filibuster came from a real place. “I get it. I get that my Democratic friends want to serve their president,” Kennedy said. “We all come up here for one reason — to make this country better. And we’re ready to go to work. We didn’t come up here for delays. We didn’t come up here for stultification.”

“So I get it. I get the frustration. But you don’t satisfy those aims by not following these words of wisdom by Senator Schumer,” Kennedy concluded.

Key Takeaways

Senator Kennedy revealed that both Republicans and Democrats signed a letter rejecting President Trump’s demand to eliminate the filibuster — the same demand Biden was now making.
Schumer blamed his reversal on “two words: Donald Trump” after MSNBC played his 2017 remarks defending the filibuster as “the most important distinction between the Senate and the House.”
Kennedy warned changing the 60-vote threshold would “gut this body like a fish” and make the Senate “look like a scene out of Mad Max.”
A compilation of Democratic quotes showed senators including Biden, Schumer, and others passionately defending the filibuster when they were in the minority.
Kennedy acknowledged the frustration of being unable to pass legislation but argued the 60-vote threshold ensured moderation in a “big, wide, open, diverse country.”

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

I remember when President Trump said, change the filibuster, get rid of it. We said no. And by we, I mean Republicans and Democrats.
What has changed is two words — Donald Trump.
If we change the 60-vote threshold, it will gut this body like a fish. Like a fish. Our institution will look like a scene out of Mad Max.
They want to make this country into a banana republic, where if you don’t get your way, you change the rules. It’ll be a doomsday for democracy if we do.
If you get 51 percent of the vote, you do not get your way 100 percent of the time. That is what we call abuse of power.
I get the frustration. But you don’t satisfy those aims by not following these words of wisdom by Senator Schumer.

Full transcript: 1013 words transcribed via Whisper AI.