Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Prep Guide for Exam Success!

The view on why the filibuster hasn’t been a major concern in recent years stems from the effectiveness of the cloture rule in allowing the Senate to bring debates to a close. Cloture is a procedure used to end a filibuster by invoking a vote that requires 60 senators to agree to end the debate on a bill or nomination. This means that while a minority party can still prolong debate, the majority can ultimately move forward with legislative action when they have sufficient votes.

Consequently, although filibusters can still occur, the ability to end them through cloture means they do not dominate Senate proceedings as they once might have. This has allowed the Senate to function more efficiently in recent years, mitigating concerns about the prevalence of filibusters stalling legislation.

In contrast, other options do not accurately represent the current state of the filibuster. The filibuster has not been eliminated, it remains a part of Senate rules. The notion that the Senate limits a filibuster to 30 hours is misleading; while there are provisions in place regarding debate time, they do not fundamentally change the nature of the filibuster itself. Lastly, the operation of the Senate on a track system influences scheduling rather than directly