President Donald Trump spent Sunday night demanding that Senate Republicans blow up a centuries-old legislative check on the party in power.
After his calls last week to end the government shutdown by making use of the “nuclear option” largely fell on deaf ears, Trump is once again demanding that Republicans eliminate the filibuster.
“TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. WE WILL GET ALL OF OUR COMMON SENSE POLICIES APPROVED (VOTER ID, ANYONE?) AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The president is increasingly angry that Democrats haven’t caved to his demands to pass a seven-week continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels.
Democrats are calling for any budget plan to roll back GOP cuts to Medicaid and extend tax credits to stop health insurance premiums from skyrocketing next year.
Instead, Republicans have let thousands of federal workers go without pay, eviscerated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and signaled they’ll let Americans go hungry by refusing to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which 42 million Americans depend on.
Trump reportedly thought the government shutdown would last about 10 days at the most.
Now that it’s dragged on for more than a month, he’s becoming increasingly anxious for Republicans to eliminate the filibuster rule requiring 60 senators to agree to bring legislation up for a vote.
During an interview with 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, he repeated his demands for the “nuclear option.” So far, however, Republicans have resisted.
Last week, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CBS News that the South Dakota Republican, who has previously rejected calls to change the filibuster rule, still opposed the move.
“I like John Thune, I think he’s terrific, but I disagree with him on this point,” Trump told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell during the 60 Minutes interview.
Speaker Mike Johnson has also cautioned against eliminating the rule, telling reporters, “Is it possible? Yes… Is it wise? A lot of people would tell you it’s not.”
“I mean, on the Republican side, I would be deeply concerned if the Democrats had a bare majority in the Senate right now,” he added.
The filibuster has existed in various forms since the 1780s and was adopted as an official rule in 1917, according to the U.S. Senate.
Trump, however, has been trying to convince his party members that Democrats will eventually kill the filibuster if Republicans don’t.
“REMEMBER, THE DEMOCRATS WILL DO IT IMMEDIATELY, AS SOON AS THEY GET THE CHANCE. OUR DOING IT WILL NOT GIVE THEM THE CHANCE. REPUBLICANS, BE TOUGH AND SMART! THE DEMS ARE CRAZED LUNATICS, THEY WILL NOT OPEN UP OUR COUNTRY NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IRREPARABLY HARMED!” he wrote.
The White House also shared the Truth Social post on X lest any members of the president’s caucus miss it on his other platform.
Democrats changed the filibuster rules in 2013 to make it easier to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominees.
Former Senate leader Mitch McConnell further rolled back the filibuster in 2017 to force through Trump’s Supreme Court nominees after refusing to hold hearings on Obama’s pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat.
During President Joe Biden’s term, some Democrats advocated for ending the filibuster to protect voting rights and adopt a federal right to abortion after the fall of Roe v. Wade, but the idea didn’t have enough support within the party.
