The top Republican in the US Senate rejected Donald Trump's call to end the House filibuster rule in an attempt to end the ongoing government shutdown, which is now in its 30th day.
The filibuster is a long-standing rule that requires the approval of most laws by 60 of 100 members. Repealing the rule, which won a 53-47 majority, would allow Republicans to pass the funding bill without Democratic support.
“It's time for the Republicans to play their trump card and go for the so-called nuclear option – get rid of the filibuster and get rid of it NOW,” Trump wrote on social media.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune said his opposition remains “unchanged.”
Millions of Americans have faced the loss of essential services due to the shutdown that began Oct. 1.
If this continues into the weekend, more than 40 million people could lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which provides food assistance to low-income families,
But on Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the Trump administration's suspension of food aid, arguing it would likely be illegal.
Thousands of federal workers are already unpaid, and concerns are growing about more flight delays as air traffic controllers and airport employees work without pay.
Thune has previously rejected calls to change the filibuster rule and end the shutdown.
“Leader Thune's position on the importance of the legislative filibuster has not changed,” Ryan Wrasse, Thune's communications director, said in a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US affiliate.
Lawmakers from both political parties have long expressed concern that repealing it would undermine a key guarantee for the minority party.
“Well, WE are in power now, and if we did what we should have done, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, country-destroying 'SHUTDOWN,'” Trump wrote in a social media post late Thursday.
By Friday, most senators had left Washington for the weekend, with little sign of progress in reopening the government.
It remains unclear whether there is enough support in the Senate to pursue the so-called “nuclear option” and eliminate the filibuster.
In recent years, both sides have weakened the influence of filibusters.
During former President Joe Biden's administration, some Democrats proposed ending the filibuster to secure abortion access and protect voting rights, but it did not gain enough support within the party.
The Senate has already made exceptions: a simple majority vote is enough to confirm some candidates, including judges. But most laws are still subject to the 60-vote threshold.
Many Republicans fear ending the filibuster could backfire if Democrats regain control of Congress.
The shutdown took effect Oct. 1 after Democrats refused to support a stopgap measure to keep the government open until mid-November unless Republicans agreed to extend health care subsidies for low-income Americans.
Republicans are fighting back, accusing Democrats of holding the government hostage to unrelated policy priorities.
