Filibuster Reform in Crosshairs in Senate

Republicans fear Democrats would use changes to consolidate power

In the first hours back in the Senate, it was filibuster reform, not the fiscal cliff, that stole the spotlight.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to reform the filibuster in January after the new Congress is sworn in, but the minority is fighting back early.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took the floor just minutes after the start of the post-Thanksgiving session, giving a spirited defense of the filibuster—a parliamentary procedure that allows the minority to delay votes almost indefinitely and has been used with more frequency in recent years.