Republicans not ready to go ‘nuclear’ on filibuster despite Trump’s demands

President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to end the Senate filibuster, but it’s a demand that puts his desire for a quick fix to end the shutdown at odds with the Republican Party’s long-standing defense of the filibuster.

The filibuster in the Senate is the 60-vote threshold that applies to most bills in the upper chamber, and given the nature of the slim majorities either party has achieved in recent years, that means legislation generally must be bipartisan to advance.

This also proved to be the main obstacle to reopening the government. Although Republicans control the upper chamber, they have consistently fallen short of a handful of votes in their 13 attempts to end the shutdown.

JOHNSON warns of Trump’s demand that Senate go ‘nuclear’ to end shutdown

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Asia, October 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Three members of the Democratic caucus have split from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their colleagues to reopen the government, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs five more to reach the magic number.

Trump, in a late-night post on Truth Social, said that on his trip back from Asia, he thought a lot about why the government shut down while Republicans were in charge. His solution was for Senate Republicans to “play their ‘TRUMP’ and go for what’s called the nuclear option.”

“Get rid of the filibuster, and get rid of it NOW,” Trump said.

Senate Republicans have already gone nuclear this year to unilaterally change the rules to break the blockade imposed by Schumer and the Democrats on Trump’s nominees. But for many Senate Republicans, including Thune and his leadership team, neutralizing the filibuster is a proverbial third road.

TRUMP URGES GOP TO ‘END THE STOPMENT’ BY GOING NUCLEAR ON SENATE FILIBUSTER

Senate Republicans want to pass funding bills “at gunpoint” but remain steadfast in their position that reopening the government is the best solution. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“There’s always a lot of turmoil, as you know, on social media and so on, but no, we’re not having that conversation,” Thune said earlier this month when asked about the push to make the filibuster nuclear.

And there’s not much light between his feelings from early October until now.

“Leader Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster remains unchanged,” Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse said in a statement.

Earlier this month, during an appearance on Fox & Friends, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., shared a similar view to Thune when asked if the filibuster was considered to be on the chopping block.

“No, it won’t,” he said. “No Republican would want to support him.”

SENATE GOP RESISTS ‘NUCLEAR OPTION’ AS DEM Shutdown Deadlock Deepens

Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are not yet ready to abandon their shutdown stance as the fight approaches its fourth week. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The filibuster has been criticized over the past decade by Senate Democrats, a point Trump emphasized in his lengthy message.

The last time the filibuster was put to the test was when Democrats controlled the Senate in 2022. Schumer, who was majority leader at the time, attempted to change the rules of a “talking filibuster” in order to pass voting rights legislation.

But the effort was thwarted then-Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., joined Republicans in blocking the change. Both have since retired from the Senate and become independents.

Still, the gridlock in the Senate has shown no signs of breaking as the shutdown heads toward November, although bipartisan discussions among rank-and-file members have intensified as federal food benefits head toward a weekend funding cliff.

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Across the building, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also warned against relying on the nuclear option for the filibuster, even as a handful of House Republicans demanded the safeguard be removed.

“Look, I’ll just say this generally, as I’ve said many times about the filibuster, it’s not my call. I don’t have any say in that. That’s a matter for the Senate chamber,” Johnson said. “But the filibuster is traditionally considered a very important safeguard. If the shoe were on the other foot, I don’t think our team would like it.”