Journalism of Courage
As the US government shutdown entered its 31st day on Friday, President Donald Trump called on the Senate to scrap the filibuster, so that the Republican majority can bypass Democrats and reopen the federal government.
“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday.
The filibuster is a long-standing tactic in the Senate to delay or block votes on legislation by keeping the debate running. It requires 60 votes in a full Senate to overcome a filibuster, giving Democrats a check on the 53-seat Republican majority that led to the start of the October 1 shutdown when the new fiscal year began.
Republicans can change the Senate’s rules by voting to set a new precedent that the filibuster does not apply to government-funding legislation.
Trump’s call to terminate the filibuster could alter the ways the Senate and congressional dealmaking operate, with the president saying in his post that he gave a “great deal” of thought to the choice on his flight back from Asia on Thursday.
Though Trump has called for the elimination of the filibuster, it is unlikely to get the support of Republican senators.
John Curtis, the Republican Senator from Utah, said he is a “firm no” on eliminating the Senate filibuster.
“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate. Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it,” Curtis wrote on X.
According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune had pledged last year to preserve the Senate filibuster.
Members of his team, including James Lankford, the Senate Republican Policy Committee vice chairman, and John Cornyn, the Republican Senator from Texas, had also ruled out a potential change to the filibuster.
Others, however, are apprehensive and feel that they will have to comply with Trump’s demand as “the pressure from the White House will become pretty enormous.”
Trump’s call to end the filibuster came at a moment when certain senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson believed it was time for the government shutdown to come to an end.
The House has been closed down under Johnson for the past month. Senators are preparing to depart on Thursday for the long weekend. That means the shutdown is likely to stretch into another week if the filibuster remains.
If the shutdown continues, it could become the longest in history, surpassing the 35-day lapse that ended in 2019, during Trump’s first term, over his demands to build the US-Mexico border wall.
According to The Associated Press, the next inflection point comes after Tuesday’s off-year elections — the New York City mayor’s race, as well as elections in Virginia and New Jersey that will determine those states’ governors. Many expect that once those winners and losers are declared, and the Democrats and Republicans assess their political standing with the voters, they might be ready to hunker down for a deal.
“I hope that it frees people up to move forward with opening the government,” said Senate Majority Leader Thune.
