In his first break with the Senate Democrat he hopes to replace, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) threw his support behind the filibuster, calling it “an important tool to be able to stop bad policy from being able to go through Congress.”
That position puts Pappas at odds with progressives in his party like former President Barack Obama, who call the filibuster rule a relic of the Jim Crow era of segregation.
The filibuster requires 60 voted to end debate and send legislation to the Senate floor for an up-or-down vote.
In 2022, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen abandoned her previous support for the filibuster, voting to kill the Senate rule in order to pass federal legislation overriding state election laws like New Hampshire’s voter ID mandate.
Pappas is the only major Democratic candidate to replace Shaheen when her current term ends. Asked by WMUR’s Adam Sexton earlier this month if he supported ending the filibuster, Pappas declined to answer. Instead, he gave a long and evasive response that, even after a follow-up question from Sexton, left his stance unstated.
But during a “Conversations With The Community” program that aired on Sunday, Sexton tried again. “Do you support ending the filibuster in the U.S. Senate for certain issues, say, like abortion?”
This time, Pappas answered by expressing his support for the filibuster as a way to block bad legislation and promote bipartisanship.
Calling it “an important opportunity to push Republicans and Democrats together to solve problems,” Pappas told Sexton, “It’s been used in that way a number of times throughout the years. You think of the infrastructure law that we passed came about because Republicans and Democrats decided to work together.”
And, Pappas added, “at this moment, it’s an important tool to be able to stop bad policy from being able to go through Congress. And we’ve got to make sure that we’re smart about the kind of tools we have in Washington, because at the end of the day this is about how we put the people of New Hampshire first. And whether that’s defending personal freedoms, making this economy work for everyone, (or) stopping efforts like the gutting of Medicaid.
“I’ll do whatever I can, working within the current system, to stand up for what’s right.”
Defending the current system is out of step with most U.S. Senate Democrats, 48 of whom voted to kill it in 2022, as well as his party’s progressive base. Vice President Kamala Harris touted her support for ending the filibuster during her failed bid for the White House last year, for example. Obama denounced it as a “Jim Crow relic,” — a statement echoed by President Joe Biden.
In fact, the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s fundraising dinner Sunday night, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) supports ending the filibuster.
Closer to home, Sen. Maggie Hassan dismissed the filibuster as part of “a set of arcane Senate rules.”
“We must change the rules to allow a simple majority of this body … to pass laws that will protect the right to vote and protect American democracy,” Hassan said during a 2021 speech from the Senate floor.
