The top two Republicans in Congress said Friday they do not agree with President Donald Trump’s call to end the Senate filibuster in order to adopt a budget resolution to reopen the federal government. Trump has pushed for the Senate to end the filibuster multiple times, dating back to 2017, but Republicans have consistently opposed the idea.
On his Truth Social account Thursday night, Trump wrote: “….BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE GONE STONE COLD “CRAZY,” THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE “NUCLEAR OPTION,” GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
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But Friday, both the Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declined to back Trump’s demand, holding firm in their opposition to abolishing the filibuster. The Senate filibuster requires legislation to receive 60 votes to end debate and move to the final stage of approval.
“Leader Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged,” his communications director, Ryan Wrasse, said in a statement to Straight Arrow News.
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The Congressional Budget Office estimates the government shutdown could cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion.
Thune said on The Ben Shapiro Show that the filibuster has prevented undesirable legislation from passing when Democrats held the Senate majority, such as an elections bill that would have given the federal government new powers in running elections.
“It’s all about political power,” Thune said. “And you know, now that [Democrats] are on the outside, they’re going to use this to their advantage. I just think that we ought to be able to do this the old-fashioned way, and that is, open up the government by just having five more Democrats vote with us.”
Thune and Johnson listed a number of policy items Democrats have said they would try to pass if they could approve legislation in the chamber with a simple majority.
“[Democrats] would pack the Supreme Court, they would make Puerto Rico and in D.C. states, they would ban firearms,” Johnson told reporters Friday. “They would do all sorts of things that would be very harmful for the country. The filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don’t think our team would like it.”
Johnson, who noted he has no say on the filibuster as a member of the House of Representatives, said Trump’s statement was an expression of anger over the government shutdown.
“He is as angry as I am, and the American people are about this madness,” Johnson said. “He just desperately wants the government to be reopened so that all these resources can flow to the people who need it so much.”
Democrats tried and failed to end the legislative filibuster in January 2022. Then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made a motion to change the Senate’s rules to pass a voting rights bill. It failed after two Democratic senators — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — voted against the rules change.
