US President Donald Trump is pushing Republicans to eliminate the Senate’s filibuster rule as the ongoing government shutdown stretches into its fourth week.
In a late-night post on Truth Social following his return from an Asia trip, Trump called for the GOP to employ the “nuclear option” to advance their agenda and immediately end the stalemate.
The filibuster currently requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the Senate. Trump argued that Republicans, who currently control Congress and the White House, should play their “Trump card” and “Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!”
Trump criticized the current situation, writing: “The one question that kept coming up, however, was how did the Democrats SHUT DOWN the United States of America, and why did the powerful Republicans allow them to do it?”
He praised current Republican leaders like Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, but blasted Democrats as “crazed lunatics” who are holding up funding over unrelated demands. Trump accused Democrats of wanting to take “Trillions of Dollars to be taken from our Healthcare System and given to others, who are not deserving — People who have come into our Country illegally, many from prisons and mental institutions.”
The President pointed out that Democrats themselves previously tried to abolish the filibuster when they controlled Congress and the White House during the Biden administration. That effort failed largely due to opposition from then-Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, both of whom have since become independents.
Trump suggested that abolishing the filibuster would immediately end the “ridiculous, country-destroying shutdown” and allow Republicans to install “the best Judges, the best U.S. Attorneys, the best of everything.”
He also referenced the 2013 decision by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for most executive branch and judicial nominees, stating he now wants to use the tactic to “take advantage of the Democrats.”
