Trump’s Call To Axe Filibuster Likely Dead On Arrival In Senate

President Donald Trump’s call to scrap the legislative filibuster is likely to fall on deaf ears among Senate Republicans.

Trump rattled off two Truth Social posts on Thursday evening urging Republicans to circumvent Democrats’ opposition to ending the 31-day shutdown by eliminating the filibuster, a procedural rule requiring most legislation to obtain 60 votes — and bipartisan support — to advance. Spokespersons for top Senate Republicans immediately pushed back on the idea.

“[Senate Majority] Leader [John] Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged,” Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for the majority leader, said on Friday.

Kate Noyes, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, said the second-ranking Republican’s support for the legislative filibuster has not changed.

Both Thune and Barrasso have consistently argued that the legislative filibuster is a crucial bulwark against Democrats’ enacting a far-left agenda the next time they wield power in Washington.

“The Democrats would love for us to do that [eliminate the filibuster],” Barrasso told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Oct. 21. “They tried to do it last time because they wanted to add D.C. and Puerto Rico as states with more Democrat senators. They wanted to expand the Supreme Court from 9 to 13, and they wanted to get rid of voter ID, so that’s not something that we’re going to entertain.”

Trump wrote on TruthSocial that Democrats have “lost all sense of WISDOM and REALITY,” and implored Senate Republicans to invoke the “nuclear option” and eliminate the Senate filibuster.

….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!” Trump’s second Truth Social post read in part.

Trump’s pair of social media posts comes after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a majority of Senate Democrats have filibustered a House-passed bipartisan spending bill to fund the government 13 times. If Senate Republicans voted to eliminate the 60-vote requirement, they could reopen the government without needing any Democratic votes.

The vast majority of Senate Republicans, however, have argued that there are major downsides to changing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. Given deep GOP opposition, Republicans likely would not have the votes to weaken — or completely eliminate — the legislative filibuster.

“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate. Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t,” Republican Utah Sen. John Curtis wrote on X following Trump’s Truth Social posts. “I’m a firm no on eliminating it.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson also highlighted the downsides to eliminating the filibuster while speaking with reporters on Friday.

“The filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday while qualifying the filibuster debate is a Senate issue. “If the shoe was on the other foot, I don’t think our team would like it.”

Conservative members of the Senate Republican conference have reiterated their support for the legislative filibuster during the government shutdown.

“That’s not even within the realm of possibility,” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told a reporter in early October. “You’d have to be smoking wizard weed to vote for that … That ain’t passing.”

“There are so many ways they [Democrats] can hurt our country if we as a Senate blow up the filibuster,” Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said on Fox Business on Monday.

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also poured cold water on the Senate scrapping the legislative filibuster in October after Rep. Chip Roy said the upper chamber should consider its elimination.

A handful of other House Republicans, including Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have urged the Senate to nix the filibuster and end the shutdown.