Dianne Feinstein says the Senate must analyze the filibuster reform.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has long been seen as one of the big supporters of the filibuster. Now she’s making it clear that her mind could change, which’s a big boost for Democrats who want to do away with the procedure that most legislation requires to get 60 votes to pass the Senate. Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for nearly three decades, said late Friday that the shooting in Atlanta this week prompted her to change her mind and that she could possibly change the way the filibuster works if senators could not come together. a dual way of arms control legislation and voting rights.

“If that proves impossible and Republicans continue to abuse the filibuster by requiring votes, I am prepared to change the way the Senate filibuster rules are used,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “I do not want to deviate from the Senate traditions, but I also do not believe that one party should be able to prevent votes on important bills by abusing the filibuster.”

In the statement, Feinstein pointed out that President Joe Biden also expressed support for the change this week. Biden, who has served in the Senate for 36 years, suggested that he could endorse what is known as a ‘talking filibuster’, which essentially requires a senator to continue speaking in order to maintain the filibuster. ‘I do not think you need to turn off the filibuster. “You have to do it the way it was when I first came to the Senate in the old days,” Biden said in an interview with ABC News. “You had to get up and command the floor. And you had to keep talking. ‘

Feinstein said earlier that she is not too keen on changing the filibuster rules because she is worried about what could happen if Republicans regain control of the Senate. She was hardly the only position among the Democrats to change the rules, but even some who have talked about the importance of the Filibuster seem willing to at least talk about reform. Sen. West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, for example, recently said he was willing to discuss calling a filibuster.

Feinstein and Manchin have both expressed potential support for at least some form of reform. The most important position among Democrats is now Senator Kyrsten Cinema of Arizona. Synema not only opposed the filibuster reform, but also said she would consider strengthening the filibuster. Given the Senate’s 50-50 split, Democrats are likely to need the support of all members of their party to carry out reforms.