reading in shifts they can go 24/7 forever i think. there is plenty to read.

If Thune recesses instead of adjourning, then the next calendar day is still the same legislative "day."

So that would mean each Senator only has two shots at holding the floor. I'm not sure that all of those who would vote against the bill would be willing to join the effort. I think they reached the 50 votes for it with Collins getting on board last month. So the question becomes how long can 48-50 senators or so hold the floor if each one does their two sessions of speaking.

Not counting days in recess, which there will be plenty of.

Now some senators are too frail to go for 12 hours, and some may speak for longer, but with some organization and , more importantly, determination, I think it’s possible to prevent cloture on the bill before the midterms.

Practically speaking, if they can block it until September, or even July, it will be dead in the water.

There is talk of a $50 billion supplementary defense appropriations bill being required to fund the war in Iran; if that comes up, could the Dems 1) block it by refusing to suspend the SAVE act filibuster, or 2) force an adjournment, which would restart the clock on the filibuster for the SAVE act?

...must be covered.

Assume the Senate stays in session throughout, making for one legislative day, and you have 48 "filibusterers" that's 48 x12 hrs x 2 sessions each = 1152 hours or 48 calendar days.

I'm not positive, but I think if Thune recesses, when they come back, it is still the same legislative "day," but "debate" is suspended during the recess, so I think they would get a break.

If he adjourns, debate continues as "unfinished business" when they reconvene, Then it is the next legislate day, so they are back to having a full complement of available Senators.

So, we can probably assume Thune would just keep them in session until they run out of opponent Senators and steam.

There may be other tricks one side or the other can use.

If Trump and Hegseth want their $50 billion, they might have to surrender on SAVE.

I think they would have to adjourn, not just recess, as appropriations bills have to go through committee first and that can take several legislative “days”.

They only need one "filibusterer" at a given time. But they would need the entire Republican conference to hang around to get their butts to the floor for any quorum calls Schumer makes.

If they fail to achieve a quorum, they need to wait or adjourn.

And any member can move to adjourn at any time. If there are more Democrats available to vote on the motion than there are Republicans, the motion would pass.

I suspect that enough Republicans might balk at the notion of being tied to DC to put the kibosh on the whole "talking filibuster" notion.

Last edited Sun Mar 8, 2026, 03:20 PM - Edit history (2)

I suspect that's what would ultimately put the kibosh on the notion.

Because if they don't stay on the floor, there is no quorum and the legislative day can be adjourned. And then the clock restarts.

I think this is why the talking filibuster was ended. It actually puts more stress on the majority to maintain a quorum.