Sen. James Lankford Says He Won’t Vote to Change the Filibuster, No Matter What

Sen. James Lankford warned against Republicans using their Senate majority to change the chamber’s filibuster rules, arguing the move could have far-reaching consequences.

“I’ve been very outspoken. I do not agree with taking down the filibuster,” Lankford told NOTUS’ Reese Gorman on the latest episode of the On NOTUS podcast. “There are folks that believe if we want what we want, when we want it, we should just bring the house down to be able to get whatever we want. I think there’s long-term repercussions for that for the country.”

President Donald Trump has pushed hard for Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Many Democrats and state officials argue the bill would create barriers to registering for eligible voters.

Some Republicans, especially in the House, have advocated for changing Senate rules to eliminate the 60-vote threshold currently required to pass most legislation, erasing Senate Democrats’ main avenue to block the bill. Lankford said he’s extremely supportive of the SAVE America Act but not at the expense of the filibuster.

“I’ve got some folks that somehow believe that if you yell loud enough, all the Democrats on the left will cower and they’ll just walk away, and that’s not how real life works in the Senate,” Lankford said.

Lankford thinks there is enough public support for the provisions in the SAVE America Act that it will eventually pass.

“So as far as pushing the issue, let’s push it. Let’s do whatever we can to be able to get this because I think the vast majority of the American people see no problem with just voter ID,” he said.

Congress also needs to solve some more immediate problems, like its funding battle over the Department of Homeland Security, Lankford said.

As DHS enters its sixth week of partial shutdown, Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports on Monday to help with the increased wait times due to Transportation Security Administration furloughs.

“Quite frankly, the biggest thing in front of us right now that’s on fire is DHS funding,” Lankford said. “My Democratic colleagues are more worried about ICE than they are Iran and so that they are just defunding all of Homeland Security.”

Lankford said Congress’ focus should be on getting DHS and its agencies operating at full capacity again.

“So if there’s anything I think Americans are looking for, it’s the TSA lines to stop as they’re coming in and out from spring break right now on different trips, to be able to make sure things are actually functioning normal,” Lankford said. “But they want to know their national security apparatus is actually operating.”

On NOTUS is a weekly podcast in which host Reese Gorman talks to lawmakers about how they got to Washington and what motivates them. You can download or listen here.