The U.S. Senate has sometimes been called the “world’s most exclusive club.” It might also be among the country’s most unloved institutions. There is growing talk of abolishing the upper chamber of Congress, a proposal promoted by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members who are making a push for power within the Democratic Party.
What did the commentators say?
The Senate is an “anachronistic institution” designed to ensure U.S. voters do not have “too much of a say” in the country’s governance, DSA co-chair Megan Romer said on “Fox News Sunday.” Abolishing the chamber and expanding the House of Representatives “would help make this country more democratic,” DSA co-chair Ashik Siddique said on C-SPAN, per The Washington Examiner. That is a tall order. Getting rid of the Senate would “require amending the Constitution,” said the Examiner, and necessitate the House taking on the upper chamber’s duties of “confirming executive and judicial nominees, ratifying treaties, conducting impeachment trials, and considering legislation.”
A “teardown” of the Senate “might be the DSA’s best idea” and would “rank among the great democratic advances in American history,” said Jonathan Chait at The Atlantic. The equal representation the Senate gives all states means people living in sparsely populated states like South Dakota “enjoy more power” than voters in more populous states like New York. And because those smaller states are “rural and overwhelmingly white,” the Senate “systematically under-weights racial minorities.” It is a “form of affirmative action for white people” and should be eliminated.
“It’s important to understand how radical this is,” said The Wall Street Journal editorial board. The left “loathes the Senate” because it acts as a “restraint on temporary majorities” that can dissipate quickly. The equal representation among states “prevents dominance by California, New York and Texas.” The DSA’s goal is “eliminating barriers to rapid, radical change.” But the proposal might be a pipe dream. Constitutional mandates require that the Senate not be abolished “without the consent of every state.”
One alternative to abolishing the Senate would be to transform it into a “mostly ceremonial body, like the United Kingdom’s House of Lords,” said Osita Nwanevu at Slate last year. Such a move would make the U.S. like the two-thirds of the world’s countries “where one house holds nearly all real legislative power.”
What next?
Republicans are also contemplating reform. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) this month signed on to a resolution to “repeal the 17th Amendment,” which “allows voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators,” said PoliticsPA. State legislatures would choose senators instead. The current system has created “six-year politicians more focused on national ambitions” than on the “states they serve,” said resolution sponsor Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) in a statement.
President Donald Trump is also calling for changes. On Saturday, he “once again urged” Republican senators to eliminate the filibuster to pass his proposed bill of election restrictions, said The Hill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has repeatedly said there are not enough votes to do so.