President Trump calls on Senate to scrap filibuster so Republican majority can override Democrats and reopen the federal government.
“The CHOICE IS CLEAR – INITIATE THE “NUCLEAR OPTION”, GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump posted Thursday evening on his Truth Social page.
The filibuster is a long-standing tactic in the Senate aimed at delaying or blocking a vote on a bill by continuing debate. Overcoming a filibuster requires 60 votes in the full Senate, giving Democrats control of the 53-seat Republican majority that led to the start of the shutdown Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year began.
Mr. Trump's call to end the filibuster could change the way deals are made in the Senate and Congress, as the president said in a post that he had given the choice “a lot” of thought during his flight back from Asia on Thursday.
CBS News has reached out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune for comment. The Senate adjourned Thursday and is not scheduled to reconvene until Monday.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Mr. Trump spent the past week with foreign leaders in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. where did he meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The president billed the trip as a success thanks to a trade truce with China and foreign investment planned in American industry, but he said one question that kept coming up during his time there was why “powerful Republicans allowed” Democrats to shut down parts of the government.
His call to end the filibuster came as some senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson believed it was time to end the government shutdown. It's unclear whether lawmakers will follow Trump's lead instead of seeking ways to negotiate with Democrats.
From coast to coast, fallout from a shuttered federal government is hitting homes as Alaskans stockpile elk, caribou and fish for the winter. even before SNAP food assistance is planned to be disabled. Miners are filling their tanks with oil to heat their homes, but are waiting for federal subsidies that are nowhere in sight.
Flights are delayed due to upcoming holidays. Workers remain without wages. And for the first time, Americans are seeing skyrocketing health insurance costs that are driving the impasse on Capitol Hill.
“People are stressed,” said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as food options in her state become increasingly scarce.
“It’s past time for us to put this behind us.”
While there are quiet talks, especially among bipartisan senators, the shutdown is not expected to end until Saturday's deadline, when Americans' deep food insecurity — one in eight people depend on the government to have enough to eat — could become abundantly clear if federal SNAP funds dry up.
