American Politics Speaker Series: Social Preferences and the Filibuster

You’re invited to join Christian Fong, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Government and Policy, for an American Politics Speaker Series discussion sponsored by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the Center for American Political Studies.

Registration is encouraged but not required. This event series will not be recorded.

This event is open to Harvard ID holders only. Lunch will be served.

Abstract

When legislators do not get what they want in a legislative negotiation, they may become angry and engage in socially costly retaliation. We show how adhering to endogenously chosen rules can reduce this kind of retaliation by studying one particular rule in one particular institution: the US Senate’s filibuster. After Democrats curtailed the filibuster for nominations via the nuclear option, senators from both parties began to oppose nominees who they previously would have supported. Procedural squabbling over nominees increased, which cost precious time and pushed other legislative initiatives off the floor. These findings cannot be explained by changes to the kinds of people the president nominated, senators voting differently when they are no longer pivotal, fear of electoral punishment, or retaliation for the abolition of the filibuster itself.

More About the Speaker

Christian Fong specializes in the study of the United States Congress, and is especially interested in the tools members of Congress have to promote compromise. Fong’s work combines perspectives from political science, evolutionary psychology, and labor economics.

In 2025, Fong received the Emerging Scholar Award from the American Political Science Association’s Legislative Studies Section. Fong holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University, a PhD from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, where he was an economic policy advisor to Senator Mike Lee. He is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Effective Lawmaking.

About the Series

The United States is a crossroads. How can Americans connect to each other in deep and meaningful ways, despite holding drastically different political world views? What are the causes and consequences of our nation’s historic levels of partisan polarization? Just how far can democratic backsliding go? The American Politics Speaker Series (APSS) aims to bring together scholars who are doing research on these and other important questions. Hosted jointly with the Center for American Political Studies and chaired by Professors Benjamin Schneer and Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, each session will highlight a scholar whose research is at the forefront of the study of American politics.

Event Details

The Ash Center encourages individuals with disabilities to participate in its events. Should you wish to enquire about an accommodation, please contact our events team at info@ash.harvard.edu prior to the event.