Obama Personally Lobbied Senators to Curb Filibuster

President Barack Obama personally lobbied three Democratic senators who were unsure about a proposed ban on filibusters of presidential nominees, an 11th-hour effort earlier this week that reflected how much the White House expects to rely on executive actions to press its second-term agenda.

A Senate Democratic aide said Mr. Obama called senators who were on the fence and told them "how important this was to him and our ability to get anything done for the rest of the term." The White House confirmed that Mr. Obama contacted senators but...