US Politics

Trump’s ‘nuclear’ demand not landing for Senate Republicans amid shutdown

By Eric November 1, 2025

In a recent twist in the ongoing government shutdown saga, former President Donald Trump has called on Senate Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster, a move that starkly contrasts with the party’s long-standing defense of this legislative tool. The filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the Senate, has become a significant barrier to passing bills, especially in a politically divided chamber. Despite holding a slim majority, Republicans have struggled to garner enough bipartisan support to reopen the government, falling short in 13 attempts. Trump’s late-night plea on Truth Social emphasized his frustration with the shutdown, urging Senate Republicans to “play their ‘TRUMP CARD’” and invoke the “Nuclear Option” to dismantle the filibuster immediately.

However, this proposal has met with resistance from key Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso. Both have expressed their firm belief in the importance of maintaining the filibuster as a legislative safeguard, emphasizing that discussions around abolishing it are not on the table. Thune’s spokesperson reiterated his unchanged position, while Barrasso stated that there simply aren’t enough Republican senators willing to support such a drastic change. This reluctance is underscored by the historical context of the filibuster; it has been a point of contention in recent years, particularly among Democrats, who attempted to reform it under the leadership of Chuck Schumer in 2022 but ultimately failed due to bipartisan opposition.

As the government shutdown extends into November, the prospects for resolution appear dim. While there have been increasing bipartisan discussions among rank-and-file members, the leadership remains cautious. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Thune’s sentiments, highlighting the filibuster’s role as a critical safeguard in the legislative process. He suggested that if the political roles were reversed, Republicans would likely oppose any efforts to eliminate such a protective measure. The ongoing stalemate illustrates the complexities of governance in a polarized political environment, where quick fixes may be tempting but often clash with established legislative norms. With federal food benefits on the brink of a funding cliff, the urgency for a solution is mounting, yet the path forward remains fraught with challenges.

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President
Donald Trump
wants Senate Republicans to gut the Senate filibuster, but it’s a request that puts his quick-fix desire to end the shutdown at odds with the GOP’s long-held defense of the filibuster.
The Senate filibuster is the 60-vote threshold that applies to most bills in the upper chamber, and given the nature of the thin majorities that either party has commanded in recent years, that means that legislation typically has to be bipartisan to advance.
It has also proven to be the main roadblock in reopening the government. Despite Republicans controlling the upper chamber, they have routinely come up a handful of votes short in their 13 attempts to end the shutdown.
JOHNSON WARNS AGAINST TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR SENATE TO GO ‘NUCLEAR’ TO END SHUTDOWN
Three members of the Democratic caucus have broken from Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer
, D-N.Y., and their colleagues to reopen the government, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs five more to hit the magic number.
Trump, in a late-night Truth Social post, said that on his return trip from Asia, he ruminated heavily over why the government had shut down despite Republicans being in control. His solution was for Senate Republicans “to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option.”
“Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW,” Trump said.
Senate Republicans
have already gone nuclear this year to unilaterally change the rules to blast through Schumer’s and Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominees. But for many Senate Republicans, including Thune and his leadership team, nuking the filibuster is a proverbial third rail.
TRUMP URGES GOP TO ‘END THE SHUTDOWN’ BY GOING NUCLEAR ON SENATE FILIBUSTER
“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 said earlier this month when asked about pressure to go nuclear on the filibuster.
And there isn’t much daylight between his sentiments from earlier in October to now.
“Leader Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged,” Thune’s spokesperson Ryan Wrasse said in a statement.
Earlier this month during an appearance on Fox & Friends, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., shared a similar outlook as Thune when asked if the filibuster was under consideration to be on the chopping block.
“No, that’s not going to be the case,” he said. “There aren’t the Republicans that would want to support it.”
SENATE GOP RESISTS ‘NUCLEAR OPTION’ AS DEM SHUTDOWN STANDOFF DEEPENS
The filibuster has come under fire in the last decade from
Senate Democrats
, a point that Trump noted in his lengthy post.
The last time the filibuster was put to the test was when Democrats controlled the Senate in 2022. Schumer, who was majority leader at the time, tried to change the rules for a “talking filibuster” in order to pass voting rights legislation.
But the effort was thwarted when then-Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., joined Republicans to block the change. Both have since retired from the Senate and become independents.
Still, the stalemate in the Senate has shown no signs of shattering as the shutdown heads into November, though bipartisan talks among rank-and-file members have been on the rise as federal food benefits career toward a weekend funding cliff.
Across the building, House Speaker
Mike Johnson
, R-La., also warned against turning to the nuclear option for the filibuster, even as a handful of House Republicans have demanded that the safeguard be erased.
“Look, I’ll just say this in general, as I’ve said many times about the filibuster, it’s not my call. I don’t have a say in this. It’s a Senate chamber issue,” Johnson said. “But the filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don’t think our team would like it.”