Editing Cloture (section)

===History===
{{See also|Filibuster in the United States Senate|Nuclear option}}
On 8 March 1917, during [[World War I]], a rule allowing cloture of debate was adopted by the Senate by a vote of 76–3<ref>55 [https://books.google.com/books?id=bNOm2K-A4AoC Congressional Record] p. 45 (8 March 1917)</ref> at the urging of President [[Woodrow Wilson]],<ref name="Filibuster_Cloture">{{cite web |url = https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Filibuster_Cloture.htm | title= Filibuster and Cloture |publisher=United States Senate |access-date=5 March 2010}}</ref> after a group of 12 anti-war senators managed to kill a bill that would have allowed Wilson to arm [[Merchant Vessel|merchant vessels]] in the face of unrestricted [[U-boat Campaign (World War I)|German submarine warfare]].<ref>See [[John F. Kennedy]]'s [[Profiles in Courage]] (chapter on [[George W. Norris|George Norris]]) for a description of the event.</ref> This effort was led by Republican Senators [[Henry Cabot Lodge]] and [[Charles Curtis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: Senate Leaders |url=https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/parties-leadership/curtis-charles.htm |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=www.senate.gov}}</ref> This was successfully invoked for the first time on 15 November 1919,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Senate and the League of Nations |publisher=United States Senate|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Versailles.htm|access-date=2008-11-19}}</ref> during the [[66th United States Congress|66th Congress]], to end a [[filibuster]] on the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Filibuster_Cloture.htm |title=Filibuster and Cloture |publisher=United States Senate}}</ref>

The Senate's rules originally<ref>Koger, Gregory ''Cloture Reform and Party Government in the Senate, 1918–1925'', Journal of Politics, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Aug 2006), pp. 708–719.</ref> required a [[supermajority]] of two-thirds of all senators present and voting to invoke cloture.<ref>{{cite news |author=Times staff, wires |title=Q&A: How does a filibuster work? |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |date=2008-11-18 |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article907426.ece |access-date=2008-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202070420/http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article907426.ece |archive-date=2 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Democrats still in the quest for 60 Senate seats |publisher=CNN |date=2008-11-04 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/senate.races.results/ |access-date=2008-11-19}}</ref> For example, if all 100 senators voted on a cloture motion, 67 affirmative votes were required to invoke cloture. If some senators were absent and only 80 senators voted, only 54 would have to vote in favor.<ref name="senate.gov">[https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30360.pdf ''Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate''], Richard S. Beth and Stanley Bach, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress: 23 March 2003, p. 13.</ref> In the early years of the cloture rule, it proved very difficult to achieve this. The Senate tried 11 times between 1927 and 1962 to invoke cloture, but failed each time. Filibuster use was particularly heavy by Democratic senators from southern states to block [[civil rights]] legislation.<ref>[[Robert D. Loevy|Loevy, Robert D.]] (1997). ''The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Passage of the Law that Ended Racial Segregation'' SUNY Press. p. 29.</ref>

In 1975, the [[94th United States Congress|Democratic Senate majority]], having achieved a net gain of four seats in the [[1974 United States Senate elections|1974 Senate elections]] to attain a strength of 61 (with an additional independent senator caucusing with them for a total of 62), reduced the necessary supermajority to three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn.<ref>[http://rule22.wordpress.com/what-is-rule-22/ "What is Rule 22?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521094452/http://rule22.wordpress.com/what-is-rule-22/ |date=21 May 2011 }}, Rule22 Blog, 5/28/2011.</ref> In practice, most bills cannot become law without the support of 60 senators.

Under the Senate rules and precedents, certain questions are nondebatable or debate time on them is limited, most notably bills considered under the [[Reconciliation (United States Congress)|reconciliation]] procedure or joint resolutions providing for [[Congressional Review Act|congressional disapproval]]. Therefore, these measures cannot be filibustered and are not subjected to the supermajority cloture threshold. Although filing cloture on nondebatable measures is redundant, it has been done on occasion.<ref name=RFloyd1992>{{cite book |last=Riddick |first=Floyd M. |date=1992 |title=Riddick's Senate Procedure |url=https://riddick.gpo.gov/documents/Cloture%20Procedure.pdf |publisher=Government Printing Office}}</ref>{{rp|302}}

On November 21, 2013, after many of President [[Barack Obama]]'s nominees had been filibustered (most notably, Republicans refused to confirm any nominees to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]), Majority Leader [[Harry Reid]] raised a point of order that the threshold for invoking cloture on nominations, other than those to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], is a simple majority. The presiding officer overruled the point of order. The ruling of the chair was overruled by the Senate by a vote of 48–52, with all Republicans, as well as Democratic Senators [[Carl Levin]], [[Joe Manchin]] and [[Mark Pryor]], voting in favor of sustaining the decision of the chair.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msnbc.com/hardball/senate-dems-move-closer-nuclear-option-msna217176 |title=Senate smacks down filibuster |last=Frumin |first=Aliyah |date=2013-11-21 |publisher=MSNBC |access-date=2022-10-01}}</ref> 

On April 6, 2017, following the filibuster of [[Neil Gorsuch]]'s nomination to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] raised a point of order that the 2013 precedent also applied to Supreme Court nominations. The presiding officer overruled the point of order. The ruling of the chair was overturned by the Senate by a vote of 48–52, with all Democrats voting to sustain the decision of the chair. As a result of these two precedents, the threshold for invoking cloture on nominations is now a simple majority.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/522847700/senate-pulls-nuclear-trigger-to-ease-gorsuch-confirmation |title=Senate Pulls 'Nuclear' Trigger To Ease Gorsuch Confirmation |last=Davis |first=Susan |date=2017-04-06 |publisher=NPR|access-date=2022-10-01}}</ref>

In the [[United States House of Representatives]], the equivalent motion is the [[previous question]].