The push to end the filibuster is intensifying in Washington, especially as the president has said he wants to see the rule nuked as a way to possibly fully fund the Department of Homeland Security and pass the SAVE America Act.
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and some Senate Republicans have repeatedly cautioned against ending it over concerns that it would enable Democrats to pass certain parts of their agenda with just a few Republicans in support, or that it could help them easily pass bills if they retake the Senate.
Still, Trump is encouraging Thune to find the votes in order to get rid of the rule, which creates a 60-vote threshold for most legislation to move forward in the chamber.
“But that’s part of being a leader, you have to get the votes,” Trump said of Thune while on Air Force One on Sunday, saying he’s a “high quality person” that’s only a couple votes short needed to successfully end the filibuster.
“Those people will not be able to withstand the onslaught because Republicans and the country wants it,” he added.
There are some exceptions to the filibuster rule — meaning they don’t require a 60 vote majority — like reconciliation bills such as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed by Trump last year and included everything from tax cuts to border security funding.
On Saturday night in a post on Truth Social, the president took a stronger tone toward Republicans who do not back the change.
“It is time for the Senate Filibuster to END. Those weak and ineffective Republicans Senators that stand in the way of this should be exposed to the public. The Democrats are CRAZY!” he wrote.
Democrats were close to ending the filibuster in 2022 in order to pass voting-related proposals, but then-Sens. Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin voted against their caucus to keep the rule in place.
“The filibuster exists to make both sides work together and produce good legislation that can withstand the test of time,” Manchin posted to Instagram earlier this month following Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) New York Post op-ed expressing his own change of heart on the filibuster.
“Eliminating the filibuster would consolidate even more power into the hands of the majority party’s leadership — and take power away from the minority and everyday Americans,” the former West Virginia senator added.
Cornyn faces political pressure in the Texas Senate Republican primary, as Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would even consider dropping out of the race if the SAVE America Act was passed. The act continues to be the top legislative priority of the president, as it would require voter identification at the ballot box and documentary proof of citizenship. The president also wants it to include transgender-related measures.
It’s unlikely that there will be much movement in Congress at all in the next couple of weeks, as both chambers went on an Easter-Passover break after each passing different solutions to the DHS shutdown — neither of which went on to pass in the other chamber. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Monday afternoon, however, that the president would prefer to see Capitol Hill get back to business sooner.
