President Donald Trump on Friday warned Senate Republicans they are headed for “disaster” unless they abolish the filibuster, intensifying pressure on his party to act amid the nation’s record-breaking government shutdown.
“If Republicans kill the Filibuster, they sail to Victory for many years to come,” Trump wrote late Friday morning on Truth Social.
“If they don’t, DISASTER waiting to happen!”
More than two hours earlier, Trump wrote: “Republicans, Terminate the Filibuster and bring back the American Dream. If you don’t do it, the Dems will, and you’ll never see office again! President DJT”
The president then quickly added, “Just say NO (Nuclear Option!). TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!”
The president’s posts, echoing his call during a White House breakfast this week with GOP senators, has reignited a fierce internal debate over whether to preserve one of the Senate’s most cherished traditions or clear the way for Trump’s legislative agenda.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” on Thursday that Trump “is 100% correct,” warning that Democrats will “strike first” and eliminate the rule the moment they regain power.
“I’ve always been a big supporter of the filibuster,” Johnson said. “It has stopped America from going down a socialist path for decades. But we need to act before Democrats do it for their own power.”
Johnson said the GOP must act “for the benefit of the American people” — to secure the border, protect elections, and pass “good pieces of legislation” — rather than waiting for Democrats to use it for what he called “power grabs.”
Democrats, he argued, “have no respect for the filibuster” and would use its abolition to pack the Supreme Court or make Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states, giving them four new Democrat senators.
Trump’s call to “terminate the filibuster” has drawn mixed reactions from Senate Republicans.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, long a defender of the filibuster, signaled this week he’s open to “changes” that would allow spending bills to pass with a simple majority.
Cornyn, who faces primary challengers aligned with Trump, said the “Schumer shutdown” has proven that the current system allows “a willful minority” to hold the government hostage.
“With the Schumer shutdown, obviously, we can’t tolerate that,” Cornyn said. “That calls for some changes.”
The longest shutdown in U.S. history, now entering its fifth week, has tested the patience of the American public and the GOP alike.
Trump has accused Democrats of “acting like kamikaze pilots” by blocking government funding and said Senate Republicans must unite to “do what they have to do.”
“The radical left in the Senate has shown zero interest in reopening the government. They’ll take down the country if they have to,” Trump said Wednesday.
Still, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Republicans “don’t yet have the votes” to eliminate the filibuster.
Thune acknowledged Trump’s position was “long-standing” but made clear he remains opposed to ending the 60-vote threshold, which he called a vital check on partisan swings.
The Washington Post reported Friday that moderate Republicans such as Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, insist the filibuster protects the country from “wild swings from one president to the next.”
But conservatives argue those “guardrails” have become obstacles in the face of Democratic obstruction. As Johnson told Newsmax, Democrats are “holding every good piece of legislation hostage” to deny Trump victories.
“The Democrats just want power,” he said. “It’s sick. It’s disgusting. But Republicans have to acknowledge that reality.”
Whether Trump’s push succeeds remains uncertain. But with his party under pressure to end the shutdown and advance his second-term agenda, Trump made it clear patience is running thin.
“Republicans have a chance to change the country for decades,” he said. “But if they don’t act now — it’s disaster ahead.”
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