A filibuster can be ended through __________; it requires the approval of __________ senators.

A filibuster can be ended through __________; it requires the approval of __________ senators.

• A. Abrogation; fifty-one
• B. Censure; fifty-five
• C. Discharge; sixty-seven
• D. Cloture; sixty

Answer: (D)

Ending a filibuster in the Senate happens through cloture, which sets a time limit on further debate so a final vote can occur. To invoke cloture, the Senate must approve with sixty votes, a supermajority of its 100 members. Once cloture passes, further debate is capped and the underlying measure can move to a final vote, typically by a simple majority. Other options don’t fit because ending a filibuster is not achieved by a simple majority, condemnation, or a House-style procedure. Abrogation isn’t the term used for this procedural move, censure is just a formal rebuke, and discharge petitions are a House mechanism. Sixty-seven votes would be even harder to obtain and is not the standard requirement to end debate.

Ending a filibuster in the Senate happens through cloture, which sets a time limit on further debate so a final vote can occur. To invoke cloture, the Senate must approve with sixty votes, a supermajority of its 100 members. Once cloture passes, further debate is capped and the underlying measure can move to a final vote, typically by a simple majority.

Other options don’t fit because ending a filibuster is not achieved by a simple majority, condemnation, or a House-style procedure. Abrogation isn’t the term used for this procedural move, censure is just a formal rebuke, and discharge petitions are a House mechanism. Sixty-seven votes would be even harder to obtain and is not the standard requirement to end debate.