Joe Kennedy calls for changing or eliminating Senate filibuster, Electoral College

Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who is mulling a Senate bid, suggested Thursday that both the Senate filibuster and Electoral College need to be changed or done away with.

“The Senate can’t agree that today is Thursday or that it’s sunny outside or that the Patriots are the best team in NFL history,” Kennedy told WBZ-TV in an interview. “If we can’t update that system to respond to the will of the voters then the system wasn’t any good to begin with, and you’re gonna have to challenge it to make it better.”

{mosads}The Senate filibuster rules essentially require a supermajority of 60 votes for legislation to advance in the chamber, creating an extra hurdle for the ruling party if it has fewer than 60 members.

Kennedy also weighed in on the Electoral College, arguing the current setup isn’t working for voters.

“The public is supposed to get the government they vote for and they’re not,” he said. “That is creating a bigger and bigger rift between where the country wants to go and the government and the structures that we have. That’s the fissure that allowed Donald Trump to win in the first place and that’s what we’ve got to change.”

A spokesman for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The debate over the fairness of the Electoral College has livened after President Trump won the race without winning the popular vote.

More than half of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates told The Washington Post they support ending the Electoral College. Only three committed to backing an end to the Senate filibuster.

Kennedy did not give any indication Thursday about the exact timing of when he will decide on a potential Senate run. If he decides to launch a bid, he would be challenging Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the primary.