Trump’s Call To Axe Filibuster Likely Dead On Arrival In Senate
President Donald Trump’s call to end the legislative filibuster may fall on deaf ears among Senate Republicans.
Trump published two articles on Truth Social 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. Spokespeople for leading Senate Republicans immediately pushed back on the idea. (RELATED: Sen. Ruben Gallego Brags About Using Filibuster to Block Trump Agenda After Campaigning to Abolish It)
“[Senate Majority] Chief [John] Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster remains unchanged,” Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for the majority leader, said Friday.
Kate Noyes, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, said the second-ranking Republican’s support for the legislative filibuster has not changed.
Thune and Barrasso have consistently argued that the legislative filibuster provides a crucial bulwark against Democrats adopting a far-left agenda the next time they hold power in Washington.
“Democrats would love us to do this [eliminate the filibuster]” Barrasso told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on October 21. “They tried to do it last time because they wanted to add DC and Puerto Rico as states with more Democratic senators. They wanted to expand the Supreme Court from 9 to 1, and they wanted to get rid of voter ID, so that’s not something we’re going to consider.”
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.
…. DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BECOME COLD “CRAZY,” THE CHOICE IS CLEAR: LAUNCH THE NUCLEAR OPTION, GET OUT OF THE FILIBUSTER AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump’s second post on Truth Social is read in part.
Trump’s two social media posts come after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a majority of Senate Democrats obstructed a House-passed bipartisan spending bill 13 times to fund the government. If Senate Republicans voted to eliminate the 60-vote requirement, they could reopen the government without needing Democratic votes.
The vast majority of Senate Republicans, however, argued that changing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold had major drawbacks. Given the Republican Party’s deep opposition, Republicans would likely not have the votes needed 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,” Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis wrote on X following Trump’s Truth Social posts. “I am strongly opposed to its elimination.”
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 01: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) (L) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (R) appear during a press conference on the West Upper Terrace of the United States Capitol on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
House Speaker Mike Johnson also highlighted the downsides of eliminating the filibuster when speaking to reporters Friday.
“The filibuster has traditionally been seen as a very important safeguard,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday, while calling the filibuster debate 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 reiterated their support for the legislative filibuster conducted during the government shutdown.
“It’s not even possible,” Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy told a reporter in early October. “You’d have to smoke witch’s weed to vote for this… It’s not a success.”
“There are so many ways they [Democrats] It can hurt our country if we, as the Senate, blow up the filibuster,” Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said Monday on Fox Business.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz also threw cold water on the Senate by abandoning the legislative filibuster in October after Rep. Chip Roy said the upper chamber should consider eliminating it.
A handful of other House Republicans, including Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, urged the Senate to end the filibuster and end the shutdown.
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