The filibuster is just a Senate rule, though, which they can rewrite any time they like (though usually only after an election).
The 2017 repeal effort used a budget reconciliation mechanism that is not subject to filibuster. In fact, a lot of the 2017 legislative awfulness used the budget reconciliation hack, where the Senate can change laws in order to ‘balance the budget,’ so long as (by convention) they don’t change policy. 2017 repeal, of course, famously failed because John McCain thought they shouldn’t use that process and voted against it.
The filibuster is just a Senate rule, though, which they can rewrite any time they like (though usually only after an election).
The 2017 repeal effort used a budget reconciliation mechanism that is not subject to filibuster. In fact, a lot of the 2017 legislative awfulness used the budget reconciliation hack, where the Senate can change laws in order to ‘balance the budget,’ so long as (by convention) they don’t change policy. 2017 repeal, of course, famously failed because John McCain thought they shouldn’t use that process and voted against it.