Trump demands Senate scrap filibuster rule to end shutdown

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Oct 31, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President Donald Trump is demanding the Senate to “go nuclear” and scrap the filibuster rule so Republicans could unilaterally end the government shutdown.

Calling the power play a “Trump card,” the president pushed GOP senators to end the longstanding rule requiring 60 votes for most legislation, generally requiring some support from the out-of-power party.

“The choice is clear: Initiate the ‘nuclear option’ (and) get rid of the filibuster,” Trump posted on his social media site. “Get rid of it, now.”

The move would allow Republicans, who hold 53 seats in the Senate, to pass a stopgap spending bill that has been stalled in the upper chamber without negotiating with Democrats. That would reopen the government and end the shutdown, which started Oct. 1.

Trump didn’t mention any limitation on his proposal to end the filibuster, like only for passing spending bills as some have suggested.

There was no immediate comment Friday from Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has previously opposed the move, or Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, the Democratic minority leader.

Many Republicans are wary of scrapping the filibuster even though it would give them more power in the short term because they control both houses of Congress and the White House.

They fear Democrats could take advantage of a shift to strict majority rule to pass all sorts of legislation when or if they regain control of all three centers of power.

It’s not clear how Trump’s call might scramble the partisan standoff over the shutdown as it heads into a second month. Some Democrats and populist Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, have been calling for the move, saying GOP leaders are showing weakness by continuing to respect the filibuster.

Democrats have so far remained remarkably unified behind their leadership’s demand for negotiations over Trump’s health cuts and especially the Republican failure to extend Obamacare tax credits. More than 20 million Americans are receiving notice of skyrocketing health insurance premiums now that open enrollment periods are starting.

But pressure is mounting on both parties to end the shutdown as federal workers, including air traffic controllers and airport screeners, miss more paychecks and 42 million low-income people face a possible cutoff of SNAP food benefits Saturday.

Informal bipartisan talks on potential paths to end the shutdown have started between some senators, and aides privately say they hope to find a solution soon.

Democrats might be more willing to end the standoff after Tuesday’s off-year elections, which amount to the first major referendum on Trump’s right-wing second term agenda.

If Democrats notched wins in the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s race, the New York City mayoral contest, along with a closely watched California referendum on a Democratic redistricting push, they might reopen the government as a strategic retreat to claim the political upper hand ahead of next year’s crucial midterm elections.