A Worthwhile Package of Senate Reforms
Jeff Merkley proposed Senate rule changes with Steve Daines to speed routine work and advance broadly bipartisan bills.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYNational Review is an established political publication, but this is an opinion piece rather than original news reporting.
- Source type — Opinion publication; its viewpoint-oriented format warrants a lower rating than a reporting-focused newsroom.
- Track record — An established national political publication, though this article is commentary rather than reported journalism.
- Author attribution — The author is not identified in the article details.
The column gives a specific account of the proposed procedures and develops a clear argument for them. It is explicitly supportive and offers little engagement with potential objections or independent evidence about how the reforms would work.
HOW WE SCORE ↗This is a favorable opinion column that explains and supports the proposal but does not present critics or a substantive counterargument. Its brief acknowledgment that the reforms are not a complete solution does not provide another perspective.
- Counterarguments presented — No opposing case or potential drawback is meaningfully developed.
- Opinion vs reporting — The piece explicitly offers the author's endorsement of the reforms.
- Source diversity — The argument largely rests on the author's assessment of the proposal.
The column argues in favor of cross-party negotiation and criticizes reforms that it says have contributed to polarization, without a discernible left- or right-partisan framing.
- Language tone — The language is evaluative but focuses on bipartisan bargaining and institutional function rather than party advantage.
- Framing — The proposal is presented as a cross-partisan reform, with no clear ideological or party-based framing.
- Headline — The headline endorses the package but does not signal a partisan direction.
Senators Steve Daines and Jeff Merkley proposed changes to Senate rules intended to speed routine business and make bipartisan bills easier to advance. The author endorses the package for encouraging cross-party bargaining, while noting it would not solve every Senate problem.
Daines and Merkley propose eliminating cloture requirements for some routine Senate work, shortening the delay between filing for cloture and voting, and creating a path to move committee-approved bills with limited debate when they have substantial bipartisan support. A separate fast track would let certain broadly supported bills reach the floor by petition, with debate limited to six hours and passage by simple majority; they propose a similar process for qualifying appropriations measures.
The author argues that the changes would encourage bipartisan negotiation rather than party discipline and calls them worthwhile, while saying they are not a cure-all for the Senate’s problems.
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SWIPE →Part of a bigger story
8 OUTLETSJeff Merkley and Steve Daines proposed bipartisan changes to Senate rules, saying they would reduce delays and speed consideration of bills. Center outlets frame the proposal as a bipartisan procedural response to gridlock, often emphasizing faster paths for bills and, in some accounts, preserving the filibuster. Right-leaning outlets likewise stress reducing delays and giving more bills a chance at floor debate, without detailing as many of the proposed rule changes.
- ARTICLES
- 8
- OUTLETS
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- AVG CRED
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