What is cloture?
Cloture is the formal procedure in the United States Senate for ending debate on a bill or nomination and forcing a vote, most often invoked to overcome a filibuster, currently requiring the votes of three-fifths of senators, 60 votes, for most legislation.
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Core tenets
- Formal end to debate
- Cloture is the specific procedural vote that ends further debate on a matter, allowing the Senate to proceed to a final vote.
- Supermajority requirement
- For most legislation, invoking cloture requires 60 votes, a higher threshold than the simple majority needed to actually pass the underlying bill.
- Distinct from final passage
- A successful cloture vote ends debate and permits a final vote; it is a separate vote from the vote on the bill's actual passage.
How it works in practice
Cloture thresholds vary by the type of matter being considered, following changes to Senate rules over time.
- Legislative cloture
- Ending debate on ordinary legislation currently requires 60 votes under standing Senate rules.
- Nomination cloture
- Following rule changes in 2013 and 2017, most executive and judicial nominations require only a simple majority to invoke cloture, rather than 60 votes.
What it is often confused with
Cloture and the filibuster are closely related but distinct: the filibuster is the act of prolonging debate, while cloture is the specific procedural vote used to end it.
Criticisms and debates
Debate over the cloture threshold mirrors broader debate over the filibuster it is designed to overcome.
Threshold-lowering critique
Some argue the 60-vote cloture threshold for legislation should be lowered or eliminated to make ordinary majority-supported legislation easier to pass.
Response: Defenders of the current threshold argue it preserves an important check requiring broader consensus for major legislation, consistent with the Senate's traditional role as a more deliberative chamber.
Rule-change precedent critique
Notes that past reductions of the cloture threshold for nominations, achieved by simple-majority rule changes, set a precedent that could eventually be extended to ordinary legislation as well.
Response: Some senators from both parties have resisted further reductions specifically to preserve this remaining check, regardless of which party currently holds a majority.
Historical examples
- Civil Rights Act cloture vote, 1964
- A successful cloture vote that ended a lengthy filibuster and allowed the Civil Rights Act to proceed to final passage.
Sources
- 1.Standing Rules of the United States Senate, Rule XXII.
- 2.Congressional Research Service. Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate.
- 3.Encyclopaedia Britannica. Cloture.