Trump urges GOP to end filibuster amid 'country-destroying' shutdown: ‘We can screw the Democrats’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Wednesday, November 4, urged Senate Republicans to abolish the legislative filibuster as the government shutdown stretched into another week, calling the move essential to passing a spending bill and ending Washington’s political stalemate.

In a three-and-a-half-minute video posted to Truth Social, Trump praised Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for “doing a great job,” but pressed Thune to take the “nuclear option” — a procedural move that would eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation in the Senate.

Donald Trump calls for the 'nuclear option' to end shutdown

“It’s now time for the Republicans to play their trump card and go for what’s called the nuclear option,” Trump said in the video. “Get rid of the filibuster and get rid of it now. We can make our country so strong, so great, we can do all the things that we wanted to do.” 

The president argued that ending the filibuster was necessary to bypass Democratic opposition and resolve the ongoing shutdown, which has halted key federal operations. He claimed Republicans could achieve sweeping policy goals if they acted immediately.

“And now we can turn it around, and we can screw the Democrats and make our country so strong,” Trump continued. “Now we’re in power — we could do it, we should do it, and it should be done immediately. End this ridiculous, country-destroying shutdown, among many other things.”

He added, “The Democrats want to end the filibuster. It will be the first day that they get into office. Don’t you understand that, Republicans?”

Republicans, Democrats remain locked over Obamacare aid

The shutdown persists amid a partisan standoff over healthcare subsidies. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has demanded that Republicans extend premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act recipients as a condition for securing Democratic votes on the spending bill. The GOP has so far rejected that demand.

Trump’s renewed pressure places Thune and Senate Republicans in a difficult position, as many have resisted changing long-standing Senate rules designed to protect minority party rights. 

Donald Trump warns GOP Democrats will scrap filibuster once in power

Trump argued that Democrats would eliminate the filibuster once they regained control, urging Republicans to act preemptively.

“It was their idea originally — Obama and Harry Reid — in order to screw the Republicans,” Trump said, referencing the 2013 decision by then–Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to end the filibuster for most judicial nominees after GOP obstruction. Republicans later extended that rule change to Supreme Court nominations.

“The Democrats want to end the filibuster. It will be the first day they get into office. Don’t you understand that, Republicans?” Trump reiterated.