President Donald Trump has dropped a political bombshell, urging Senate Republicans to ditch the legislative filibuster in a bid to break a grueling 31-day government shutdown.
The Daily Caller reported that with a fiery call on Truth Social, Trump is pushing to bypass Democratic stonewalling, but his proposal is hitting a brick wall with his own party in the Senate, where leaders see the filibuster as a vital check against unchecked progressive policies.
Let’s rewind to Thursday evening, when Trump took to Truth Social to vent his frustration with Democrats for repeatedly blocking a bipartisan spending bill passed by the House.
He argued that scrapping the filibuster—a Senate rule requiring 60 votes for most legislation to move forward—would let Republicans reopen the government without needing a single Democratic nod.
“….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 wrote on Truth Social. Well, that’s a rallying cry if there ever was one, but passion alone doesn’t change Senate rules or minds.
Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have filibustered the funding bill 13 times, leaving the government in limbo and taxpayers footing the bill for this standoff.
Yet, the real hurdle isn’t just Democratic opposition—it’s the cold shoulder from Trump’s own allies in the Senate. Top leaders like Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso aren’t budging, arguing the filibuster is a firewall against a radical left-wing agenda when power inevitably shifts.
“The Democrats would love for us to do that [eliminate the filibuster],” Barrasso told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “They tried to do it last time because they wanted to add D.C. and Puerto Rico as states with more Democratic senators.”
He’s not wrong—history shows how quickly the tables turn in Washington, and today’s majority is tomorrow’s minority begging for a safeguard like the filibuster.
Spokespersons for Thune and Barrasso were quick to double down, signaling no shift in their stance despite Trump’s pressure. The vast majority of Senate Republicans share this view, wary of the long-term risks of lowering the 60-vote threshold.
Even conservative stalwarts in the Senate have voiced support for keeping the rule intact during this shutdown mess, seeing it as a principled stand rather than a partisan ploy. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson chimed in on Friday, pointing out the potential pitfalls of such a drastic move.
On the flip side, a small group of House Republicans, including Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, are cheering Trump’s idea, desperate to end the shutdown and get the government back on track. But their enthusiasm seems more like a lone voice in a choir singing a very different tune.
Senators like Texas’ Ted Cruz have also pushed back hard against scrapping the rule, with Cruz voicing his opposition well before Trump’s latest posts. Deep GOP resistance means there likely aren’t enough votes in the Senate to even weaken the filibuster, let alone abolish it.
So, where does this leave us? Trump’s frustration with Democratic obstruction is understandable—who wouldn’t be fed up after 31 days of gridlock?—but his solution risks fracturing his own party’s unity.
The filibuster debate isn’t just about this shutdown; it’s about preserving a balance of power that conservatives may desperately need down the road.