President Donald Trump has dropped a political bombshell, urging Senate Republicans to obliterate the filibuster in a bid to break the government shutdown deadlock, Fox News reported.
With the shutdown dragging into its fourth week in November 2025, Trump’s call to ditch the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for legislation has ignited a firestorm among GOP leaders who see the rule as a vital check on runaway power, while Democrats stand firm under Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s unyielding stance.
Let’s rewind to late October 2025, when Trump, fresh from a trip across Asia, took to Truth Social with a midnight rallying cry for Senate Republicans to go “nuclear” and scrap the filibuster.
“Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW,” Trump declared, doubling down on his frustration with the Senate’s inability to muster the votes needed to reopen the government (Donald Trump, Truth Social).
Now, while that kind of decisiveness might fire up the base, it’s worth asking if bulldozing a centuries-old safeguard is the answer—or just a shortcut that could haunt conservatives when the tables turn.
The filibuster, for the uninitiated, demands a 60-vote supermajority for most bills, often forcing bipartisan compromise in a chamber where majorities are razor-thin.
Despite holding the Senate, Republicans have stumbled 13 times to end the shutdown, falling short of the magic number even with three Democrats breaking ranks from Schumer’s iron grip.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune needs five more votes to hit 60, but his team isn’t exactly rushing to nuke the rules, having already used the nuclear option earlier in 2025 to confirm Trump’s nominees.
“There’s always a lot of swirl out there, as you know, from, you know, social media, etc., but no, we’re not having that conversation,” Thune dodged, signaling a clear reluctance to entertain Trump’s gambit (John Thune, Senate Majority Leader).
Thune’s spokesperson, Ryan Wrasse, reinforced that the boss hasn’t budged on preserving the legislative filibuster, a stance echoed by Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, who flatly dismissed any GOP appetite for such a drastic move.
Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, often a Trump ally, pumped the brakes, cautioning that the filibuster has long been a critical guardrail for both sides of the aisle.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are pitching targeted funding bills as a workaround, though they insist a full reopening of the government remains the ultimate goal.
On the other side, Senate Democrats under Schumer show no signs of blinking, digging in as the shutdown grinds on and federal food benefits teeter on a funding cliff over the weekend.
Yet, there’s a flicker of hope as bipartisan chatter among rank-and-file senators picks up, hinting at a possible crack in the impasse if leadership doesn’t smother it first.
Trump’s frustration isn’t unwarranted—after all, Democrats themselves have grumbled about the filibuster for years when it blocked their agenda, a hypocrisy not lost on conservatives watching this standoff unfold.
