Tuesday afternoon, a group of hard-line Republicans, led by candidate for governor Sen. Bill Eigel, seized control of the Senate floor bringing legislative proceedings to a screeching halt and preventing the legislature from addressing key legislation like funding for rural hospitals and nursing homes or passing the state budget. Eigel and his cronies refused for over 40 hours to end their filibuster until their extreme demands were met before ultimately ending the filibuster without them.   

Eigel’s faction was demanding that legislators approve a resolution that asks Missouri voters to limit their own power to check their elected officials at the ballot box and that Governor Parson sign their bill to defund an essential health services provider. These are further attacks on reproductive freedom and family planning in response to the current efforts to put reproductive rights on the ballot this November. These demands showcase the lengths that Missouri Republicans will go to further their extreme agenda. 

Eigel has not been acting alone in this destructive crusade. His fellow Republican candidates for governor, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, and Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe, have enabled and emboldened this culture of dysfunction and of putting partisan interests above the needs of working families in Missouri. Ashcroft has used his position to push misinformation to mislead voters on a ballot amendment that aims to protect reproductive freedom in the fall.

"While Missouri families are grappling with real challenges on healthcare, education, and economic opportunity, Bill Eigel and his fellow extremists are busy playing political games to attack our rights and freedoms and obstructing progress," said Missouri Democratic Party Rural Caucus Chair Joshua Dunne. "It's clear they care more about scoring cheap political points in their run for higher office than improving the lives of Missouri families. Missourians deserve a governor who will always prioritize our best interests, not someone who’d rather obstruct progress at every turn.” 

Background: 

Kansas City Star: Missouri Capitol Grinds To A Halt As Hard-Right Senators Block Billions For Medicaid 

“Members of the hard-right Missouri Freedom Caucus have for more than 28 hours held the Senate floor hostage, halting all action until a laundry list of their demands are met. The hours-long filibuster has sparked chaos among lawmakers who fear that it could blow up the session with less than three weeks left.” 

A chorus of Missouri healthcare groups and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday also issued a stark warning: The Freedom Caucus is “endangering the well-being of millions of Missourians.” 

The filibuster has blocked the Senate from taking up the renewal of a crucial series of taxes that would keep the state’s Medicaid program operating. The program provides health coverage to roughly 1 million residents. Failure to renew the taxes called the Federal Reimbursement Allowance or FRA, would result in a loss of billions in state and federal Medicaid funds.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Hard-Line Republicans Stall Action In Missouri Senate, Find Little Traction On Issues

Springfield News-Leader: “Missouri was the first state to trigger a near-total abortion ban in 2022 when Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Abortions are only allowed in extreme cases to save the life of the mother, but doctors are still hesitant to perform abortions due to the strict legal liability associated with doing so in the state.  Following the launch of the campaign to restore abortion rights with the least restrictions, members of the Freedom Caucus engaged in a filibuster to force Senate leaders to bring the initiative petition legislation to a floor debate, citing the abortion measure as a cause for immediate action.”

Missouri Independent: One-Third Of Missouri’s Rural Hospitals At Risk Of Closure, New Data Shows

According to the Missouri Hospital Association, as of August 2023, 19 hospitals, including 12 rural hospitals have closed since 2014 due to funding issues.