Hogan says he doesn’t ‘agree with’ getting rid of filibuster

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), also a Republican Senate candidate, said in a Sunday interview that he doesn’t “agree with” getting rid of the filibuster.

“If you’re elected to the United States Senate this November, would you support eliminating the filibuster to secure abortion rights?” CBS News’ Robert Costa asked Hogan.

“Well, I’m gonna, on day one, support the compromise bill to secure Roe and protect abortion rights all across the country, so that no, no one ever comes between a woman [and her] doctor … I don’t agree with both my opponent and Donald Trump about trying to do away with the filibuster,” Hogan said.

“Why not?” Costa asked. 

“So we can jam things through on a partisan basis, on one vote, so we can have the pendulum swing back and forth and create more divisiveness,” Hogan responded. “I think we need to find buy-in and bipartisan cooperation, just as I did and in a state that has a 70 percent Democratic Legislature, but we did things like cut taxes and lower the cost of health care and to pass a criminal justice reform act.”

Vice President Harris called earlier this week for getting rid of the legislative filibuster in the Senate so that abortion rights could be codified.

“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” Harris said on Wisconsin Public Radio. “To actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom, and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.”

The campaign website of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), Hogan’s Democratic rival, states that she “firmly believes that the filibuster in the Senate should be eliminated.”

“We gotta find a way to get people in Washington to stop just name-calling, stop trying to jam things through on the left or the right,” Hogan said in his CBS News appearance. “And the filibuster allows, it requires, bipartisan cooperation and consensus, and that’s exactly what I think we desperately need in Washington.”

In an emailed statement to The Hill, the Alsobrooks campaign said in the case of Hogan winning over Alsobrooks, “there will never be a vote to codify Roe.”

“Full stop,” the statement continued. “Today’s response shows just how serious he is about protecting reproductive freedoms. Angela Alsobrooks, along with Vice President Harris, supports eliminating the filibuster, especially when it comes to codifying abortion rights and access to IVF into law.”

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Updated at 8:14 pm EDT.