Kill The Filibuster To Save The Planet, Says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

A "filibuster carveout" like the kind being considered for abortion is not enough, the New York Democrat said.
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In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision Thursday to limit the U.S. government’s ability to respond to climate change, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for an end to the filibuster.

In a tweet, the congresswoman called the ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by the court’s five other conservative justices, “catastrophic.”

“A filibuster carveout is not enough,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet.”

The court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA effectively bars the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon emissions from power plants.

Soon after, Ocasio-Cortez retweeted climate journalist Kate Aronoff: “Minority rule in the United States is a threat to life on earth.”

Earlier Thursday, the representative responded favorably to news that President Joe Biden would support an “exception” to the filibuster to codify abortion rights in the country.

“I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade into law, and the way to do that is to make sure Congress votes to do that,” Biden said after attending a NATO summit in Madrid.

“And if the filibuster gets in the way — it’s like voting rights — we should be requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision,” he said.

Biden’s push for voting rights legislation this year fell flat despite his push for a similar filibuster carveout, however. Two conservative Democrats, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), joined Republicans to prevent changing the Senate rules.

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