In today’s Senate, a minority can block a final vote by voting against cloture, effectively making Rule XXII the primary route to decision. This allows 41 senators to prevent a vote on legislation even if 59 support it.
Cloture was not meant to give a minority the power to block votes. Rule XXII protects the right to speak, not to veto, and debate is not meant to be endless.
Yet today, the Senate often treats failure to reach 60 votes for cloture as equivalent to defeating legislation, allowing a minority to indefinitely prevent a final vote.
