Four Senate Republicans <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/four-senate-republicans-unite-dems-block-trumps-save-america-act">joined</a> every single Democrat to kill President Donald Trump&#8217;s chosen election integrity legislation for the second time — but Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) fired back with a procedural masterstroke that showed exactly what&#8217;s standing between the SAVE America Act and the president&#8217;s desk: the filibuster.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) once again crossed the aisle to block the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and a photo ID to cast a ballot. The amendment, offered by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as an attachment to the nearly $70 billion reconciliation package funding ICE and Border Patrol, needed 60 votes to clear the filibuster threshold. It never came close.
Graham didn&#8217;t pull punches after the vote. &#8220;There&#8217;s no other reason to say you don&#8217;t have to have an ID,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It just makes cheating easier.&#8221;
Lee then dropped the hammer and took aim at the &#8220;Zombie Filibuster,&#8221; the modern version of the filibuster that allows senators to obstruct legislation without maintaining a talking filibuster.
&#8220;51 votes for the SAVE America Act during tonight&#8217;s budget reconciliation vote-a-rama,&#8221; Lee posted on X. &#8220;That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump&#8217;s signature.&#8221;
&#8220;If they want to filibuster the SAVE America Act, make them speak,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And if we&#8217;re not willing to make them speak and do the hard work, then it is time to nuke the filibuster.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
51 votes for the SAVE America Act during tonight’s budget reconciliation vote-a-rama
That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature <a href="https://t.co/3eVv6RpO3C">https://t.co/3eVv6RpO3C</a>
&mdash; Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2062749611349991652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had warned before the vote that &#8220;it&#8217;s about the math,&#8221; trying to manage expectations. What the math now shows is that even if the four Republicans voted for the bill, which has overwhelming public support, they still cannot get the bill through.
Democrats, predictably, cried foul. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) insisted &#8220;current safeguards are working&#8221; and dismissed the effort as an attempt to &#8220;ban vote by mail.&#8221; He also complained about transgender-related provisions being added to the amendment during Pride Month, claiming it was &#8220;offensive.&#8221;
The American people want voter ID. A majority of the Senate wants voter ID. The only thing in the way is the filibuster.
The argument against killing the filibuster is that if Democrats gain power, they will ram every conceivable change through the Senate, such as increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court and adding more states to the union that would pad their electoral numbers.

Sen. Mike Lee

Four Republicans Help Democrats Hide Behind The Filibuster — Then Mike Lee Drops The Hammer

Filibuster

Mike Lee

SAVE America Act

U.S. Senate

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 <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2038575004388880416?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air Force One</a> 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&#8217;t require a 60 vote majority — like reconciliation bills such as the &#8220;One Big Beautiful Bill Act,&#8221; which was signed by Trump last year and included everything from tax cuts to border security funding.
On Saturday night in a post on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116309106577650785" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truth Social</a>, 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 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVygUZ9DnAk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a> earlier this month following Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) <a href="https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-op-ed-why-the-save-act-matters-more-than-the-filibuster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a> 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-fight-over-proof-of-citizenship-to-vote-reaches-boiling-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ken Paxton</a> 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&#8217;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.

USA Elections Democrats and Republicans chess concept

Fight Heats Up Over Rule That Stops One Party From Running The Show

Congress

Senate

President Donald Trump urged Republicans to abolish the filibuster and push through his top legislative priorities, suggesting that GOP senators have been too patient as Democrats block legislation.
Trump took to Truth Social early Thursday morning and <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116295094711655881">asked</a>, &#8220;When is &#8216;enough, enough&#8217; for our Republican Senators[?]&#8221;
&#8220;There comes a time when you must do what should have been done a long time ago, and something which the Lunatic Democrats will do on day one, if they ever get the chance. TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and get our airports, and everything else, moving again,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Also, add the complete, all five items, SAVE AMERICA ACT items. Go for the Gold!!!&#8221;
The GOP-led Senate remains deadlocked in a fight over funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the passage of the SAVE America Act, which Trump has said is the most important legislation before Congress. Democrats have remained mostly united in their demands for any Homeland Security funding bill to include reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and every Democratic senator has come out in opposition to the SAVE America Act.
With 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster, the Democratic unity has derailed Republicans&#8217; recent efforts to pass the SAVE America Act and to approve a spending bill that would get the Homeland Security Department back on track.
As the latest Senate fight plays out, Trump is once again urging Republicans to abolish the filibuster. The president also recently endorsed a proposal from some conservative senators to impose a talking filibuster, which would force Democrats to speak nonstop on the Senate floor to block a vote.
So far, Republican leadership has pushed back against calls to change Senate rules to either eliminate the filibuster or adopt a talking filibuster. A large group of Republicans argues that touching the filibuster in any way would come back to bite the party in the long run, as Democrats would cram through their leftist agenda the next time they took control of the upper chamber.
Other Republicans, including Trump, argue that Republicans should abolish the filibuster to pass important legislation now while they control the White House and both chambers of Congress, claiming that Democrats would push to get rid of the filibuster whenever they resume control.
Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116295216341236902">suggested</a> on Thursday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whom he called &#8220;a desperate, crippled politician,&#8221; would soon make a deal with Republicans to pass legislation &#8220;because he thinks that if he doesn’t, Republicans will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER.&#8221;
Trump added that Republicans should ditch the filibuster &#8220;whether he makes a deal or not!!!&#8221;
Democratic lawmakers have been blasted by the White House for blocking a funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS funding fight has led to a major strain on airports as hundreds of TSA employees have opted to quit instead of working without receiving a paycheck.

Donald Trump

Trump Pushes Republicans Toward More Aggressive Play Up Their Sleeve In Senate Fight

Democrats

Department of Homeland Security

Republicans

When I arrived in the United States Senate in 2011, the Republican Leader would often paraphrase George Washington who referred to the Senate as the saucer beneath a cup of tea. Just like a saucer cools the tea, the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body” was uniquely designed to cool the political passions of the time.
From the viewpoint of a limited government conservative, slowing down the passage of legislation that generally tends to grow government and reduce our freedom, the saucer analogy seemed very appealing. But now that I’ve served within this highly partisan and dysfunctional body for 15 years, I would say a better analogy is the Senate is more like the plaque clogging an artery leading to a heart attack.
There are two basic forms of debate in the Senate: speechmaking and the offering of legislation, motions and amendments for a vote. Senators love engaging in the former, but only the latter results in law. Once debate on a particular bill ends, passage requires only a simple majority, currently 51 votes. That has never changed. What has changed is the method for ending debate and “calling the question” or voting on final passage.
Prior to 1917, when Senate Rule 22 was passed establishing the cloture vote, there was no formal way of ending debate — a filibuster — in the Senate. Because unlimited debate was the tradition of the Senate, cloture was invoked only five times in the first approximately 50 years of its existence. That’s because the cloture vote was intended to end a debate that two-thirds (now three-fifths) of senators believed had gone on too long. For example, a cloture vote succeeded in ending debate on the Civil Rights Act but only after a 57-day filibuster — 57 days of debate. It was never intended to prevent all debate, however, that is exactly how it is now being used.
Rather than requiring a simple majority to get on a bill and start debate, now a supermajority of 60 votes is routinely required. This is a huge difference. Ideally, a bill addressing an important issue would be put on the floor and then further honed through a process of discussion and the adoption of amendments. Prior to 1917, as long as any Senator wanted to keep talking or offering motions and amendments (engaged in a filibuster), the question was not called.
Eventually, exhaustion set in and the Senate moved to vote on final passage — with a simple majority required for passage. This was how a deliberative body actually lived up to its name.
Now, instead of reserving the cloture vote for the very end of an extended filibuster as a last resort measure to end debate and vote on passage, the minority uses it at the very start of the process to prevent even getting on a bill, thereby blocking all debate. The resulting record of failure speaks for itself.
Total federal government debt is approaching $39 trillion. Since I entered Congress in 2011, we should have passed 180 appropriations bills prior to the start of the fiscal year they were funding. We have passed a whopping total of six on time. That’s a 96.7% failure rate. Because of that dysfunction, we have had five shutdowns, had to rely on 57 continuing resolutions to fund government on an interim basis, and increased or suspended the debt ceiling 12 times to allow the government to incur an additional $24 trillion in debt. We had a record 42-day shutdown at the start of this fiscal year, and now Democrats are holding TSA and other DHS employees hostage over their quest to defund ICE and CBP.
Both sides want to maintain the 60-vote cloture threshold to block each other’s legislative agenda when they are in the minority. But after Democrats fell only two votes short of ending the filibuster in 2022, the odds are extremely high that they will end it as soon as they regain the majority and it’s advantageous for them to do so. The Republican conference is divided between those of us who believe Democrats will end the filibuster and are therefore willing to beat them to the punch, and those who think we should risk waiting, hoping Democrats will preserve the filibuster. There are good faith arguments supporting both positions.
In light of the profound dysfunction described above, I’m not sure how things could get much worse by ending the filibuster. The status quo certainly isn’t working. I think it’s obvious things must change — we need a paradigm shift.
If the filibuster does end, we all might be surprised to find senators attempting to find common ground on more issues to help ensure bills pass with bipartisan support, thereby reducing the chance of being overturned when the other side regains power. At this point, I’m willing to make that change.
* * *
Sen. Ron Johnson represents Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate and is serving his third term. He serves as Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and is a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Budget, Finance, and Aging committees.

Trump Funding Deal Passes Senate As Short US Shutdown Looms

I’ve Seen Enough: The Senate Is Broken, And It’s Time To Change The Rules

Ron Johnson

Senators Speak To The Press Following Policy Luncheons On Capitol Hill

Why Are Republican Senators Sabotaging Trump?

2026 Midterms

Jasmine Crockett

John Thune

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Texas

Thom Tillis

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would implement strict voter ID requirements &#8220;one way or the other,&#8221; and suggested that Senate Republicans could use an old practice known as the &#8220;talking filibuster&#8221; to overcome Democrat obstruction.
Senate Republicans are trying to muster enough support behind the Save America Act after a revamped version of the bill passed the House last week. Democrats, however, have the numbers to block the legislation since it first needs to clear the 60-vote threshold to get past the filibuster. Trump, however, said that Republicans have another idea to get over the Democrats&#8217; hurdle and pass the Save America Act before the 2026 midterm elections.
&#8220;We are going to have the Save America Act, one way or the other, after approval by Congress through the very proper use of the Filibuster or, at minimum, by a Talking Filibuster, à la &#8216;Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'&#8221; Trump said, referring to the classic Jimmy Stewart film, where Stewart&#8217;s character, Mr. Smith, postpones a vote by speaking for 25 straight hours on the Senate floor.
Mr. Smith&#8217;s tactic is now referred to as a &#8220;talking filibuster,&#8221; a practice that was largely done away with in the 1970s when the Senate started the silent filibuster, allowing the opposition to stall votes only by stating their intent to filibuster, and thereby require 60 votes to invoke cloture.
Trump and Republicans hope that a long talking filibuster would cause Democrats to lose steam on their effort to stall the vote on the Save America Act and give Republicans a chance to pass it with a simple majority. Under the talking filibuster, however, Democrats could take turns speaking on the floor.
The idea was first floated by Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who introduced the Save America Act in the Senate. Lee has been whipping up support for the legislation in the Senate, and at least 50 Republican senators have expressed support for the bill, giving the GOP the numbers they need to pass the Save America Act if they can get past the filibuster. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is the only Republican who has come out against the bill.
The revamped version of the bill aims to prevent illegal immigrants from voting and would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote along with photo ID before they cast their ballots, meaning people would have to show additional documentation such as a passport or a birth certificate.
Trump backed the talking filibuster idea for the Save America Act after his recent push to abolish the filibuster was shot down by Republican Senate leaders. Senator Lee clarified on Wednesday that the talking filibuster would not be a change to current Senate rules.
&#8220;People continue to suggest that we&#8217;re trying to change the Senate rules or trying to nuke the filibuster. The talking filibuster doesn&#8217;t require a single change to a single rule,&#8221; Lee <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2024218640439300116">said</a>. &#8220;It simply requires the enforcement of rules and procedures that have lain dormant and unenforced and unused in a long time, the purpose of which is to perpetuate debate.&#8221;
Lee argued that Democrats should not be granted the &#8220;benefit&#8221; of a silent cloture, as the Save America Act has the support of a majority of Congress, the president, and is extremely popular among the American people. Recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-undercuts-democrat-voter-suppression-claims">polling</a> has shown that the vast majority of American voters back strict voter ID requirements similar to those proposed in the Save America Act.
Democrats argue that the Save America Act would &#8220;disenfranchise&#8221; up to 21 million voters and result in &#8220;Jim Crow 2.0,” the same criticism Democrats used for Georgia’s photo ID law that passed in 2021.
If the talking filibuster doesn&#8217;t work, Trump has suggested taking executive action to ensure voter ID requirements.
&#8220;There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.

Donald Trump/Jimmy Steward

Trump Eyes Hollywood-Inspired Tactic To Safeguard Elections

Illegal Immigration

Politics

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that Republicans should end the filibuster if the Democrats attempt to once again shut down the government in January.
Speaking with Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Bessent was asked about the viability of ending the filibuster.
“You call for an end to the filibuster. In the past, leader Thune has said that it&#8217;s just not happening. There aren&#8217;t the votes. Mr. Secretary, do you believe that you have enough votes, that the president has enough votes to get rid of the filibuster?” Welker asked.
Bessent responded, saying that his editorial, which was published in The Washington Post on Sunday, was designed to “put the Senate on notice.”
“The Democrats kept the government shut down — and Ezra Klein in The New York Times took the mask off. He said this wasn&#8217;t about health care; this was about stopping totalitarianism. The Democrats haven&#8217;t been able to stop President Trump in the courts; they haven&#8217;t been able to stop him in the media, so they had to harm the American people — 1.5% hit to GDP, $11 billion permanent hit. They don&#8217;t care. So I believe that Senate Democrats, if Senate Democrats close the government again, Senate Republicans should immediately abrogate the filibuster,” the Treasury secretary stated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: &#8220;If Senate Democrats close the government again [on January 30], then Senate Republicans should immediately abrogate the filibuster.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/IXTzdKMDwN">https://t.co/IXTzdKMDwN</a> <a href="https://t.co/XqJNXuJeNo">pic.twitter.com/XqJNXuJeNo</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1992611413903159675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In his Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/11/23/scott-bessent-treasury-senate-republicans-filibuster/">editorial</a>, Bessent laid out the history of the filibuster, arguing that it is a relic that no longer serves its intended purpose. “Today, the minority party can abuse the filibuster to the point of rendering the Senate almost useless as a deliberative body,” he wrote.
Right now, DailyWire+ annual memberships are fifty percent off during our Black Friday sale. Join now at <a href="http://dailywire.com/blackfriday">dailywire.com/blackfriday</a>.
“Some Republicans hesitate to end the filibuster out of fear that Democrats will one day use that same power against them,” Bessent noted. “But Democrats will use that power against them whether Republicans end the filibuster or not. GOP senators who defend the filibuster are ignoring basic game theory. As the classic prisoner’s dilemma shows us, in a repeated game, the player who always cooperates while the opponent who always betrays is doomed to lose.”

President Trump Signs Executive Order In The Oval Office

Bessent: Republicans Must Nuke Filibuster If Dems Attempt Shutdown Again

Democratic Party

Government Shutdown

Republican Party

Scott Bessent

President Donald Trump taunted Democrats on Saturday, saying that he believed their caucus was close to fracturing over the ongoing government shutdown — and then he called on Republicans to do away with the Senate filibuster once and for all, and clear the way for his agenda.
Trump issued both statements together in a post to his Truth Social platform, saying that Republicans should &#8220;blow up&#8221; the filibuster whether or not they were able to reach a deal with Democrats to end the shutdown.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/yHfTkdvywq">pic.twitter.com/yHfTkdvywq</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1987227878375698491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The Democrats are cracking like dogs on the Shutdown because they are deathly afraid that I am making progress with the Republicans on TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER!&#8221; Trump began. &#8220;Whether we make a Deal or not, THE REPUBLICANS MUST &#8216;BLOW UP&#8217; THE FILIBUSTER, AND APPROVE HUNDREDS OF LONG SOUGHT, BUT NEVER GOTTEN, POLICY WINS LIKE, AS JUST A SMALL EXAMPLE, VOTER ID (IDENTIFICATION).&#8221;
&#8220;Only a LOSER would not agree to doing this!&#8221; he added, for good measure.
Trump&#8217;s comments come just 24 hours after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) put forth a proposal to bring the shutdown to an end, saying that Democrats would come to the table if Republicans would sign off on a one-year extension of the Obamacare subsidies — a move that would bring the health care discussion back to the forefront just in time for the midterm elections.
Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) has already said that Schumer&#8217;s offer is &#8220;dead on arrival.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Nope. Schumer’s plan is dead on arrival.
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMullin/status/1986918313914495288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) offered a slightly more colorful take, telling Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, &#8220;God, please give me patience, because if you give me strength, I’m going to need bail money. What Senator Schumer is suggesting is that we do the dumbest thing possible that won’t work.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨BREAKING: Sen. Kennedy just TORCHED Schumer&#8217;s &#8220;new deal&#8221; that was just proposed.
&#8220;God, please give me patience, because if you give me strength, I’m going to need bail money. What senator Schumer is suggesting is that we do the dumbest thing possible that won’t work.&#8221;
LMFAO🤣 <a href="https://t.co/Tg7HBkBkE1">https://t.co/Tg7HBkBkE1</a> <a href="https://t.co/APrb4TftLA">pic.twitter.com/APrb4TftLA</a>
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) <a href="https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1986891882832540054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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But Republicans would not have been Schumer&#8217;s only hurdle — one month ago, just one week into the shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) turned down that same deal, calling it a &#8220;laughable proposition.&#8221;
The complicating factor, as Trump pointed out, is that the longer the shutdown drags on, the more talk there is about Republicans doing away with the Senate filibuster in order to reopen the government and get things moving again. And despite the fact that Democrats overwhelmingly supported ending the filibuster when President Joe Biden was still in office, the absolute last thing they want is to have it scrapped while Trump has the White House and majorities in both chambers.
CNN anchor Dana Bash cornered Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) on that topic on Friday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Question: You wanted the filibuster to be ended under Biden. Do you still want that?
Raskin: Not so much. <a href="https://t.co/YPXEv2Pa2z">pic.twitter.com/YPXEv2Pa2z</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1986795531914399868?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Raskin, clearly loathe to answer the question, ultimately shrugged it off by saying that because he wasn&#8217;t in the Senate and had no power, his opinion no longer mattered.

‘Cracking Like Dogs’: Trump Taunts Democrats, Calls For GOP To ‘Blow Up’ Filibuster ASAP

Chuck Schumer

Jamie Raskin

Media

President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Democrats, if they returned to power, would waste no time in remaking the Supreme Court in its entirety. Two key figures on the Left — former Attorney General Eric Holder and longtime Democratic strategist James Carville — appear to be on the same page.
&#8220;The Democrats will terminate the Filibuster in THE FIRST HOUR, if and when they assume &#8216;control&#8217; or power. Republicans have what the Democrats want — We should do it, NOW, and have the greatest three years in History!&#8221; Trump said Thursday via his Truth Social platform, largely in an effort to prompt Republicans to force an end to the ongoing government shutdown.
Carville essentially predicted exactly that on his &#8220;Politics War Room&#8221; podcast Thursday morning.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨NEW: James Carville says he&#8217;d &#8220;BET A LOT OF MONEY&#8221; that Dems will *PACK SUPREME COURT* if they regain power in 2028🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyCaller</a> <a href="https://t.co/SQRQntC6Nj">pic.twitter.com/SQRQntC6Nj</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/1986454405042843670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I want to talk to Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Alito, Justice Barrett, Justice Kavanaugh, Justice Gorsuch, I might be forgetting one,&#8221; Carville began, likely omitting Justice Clarence Thomas from his list of more conservative members of the Supreme Court.
&#8220;I&#8217;m gonna tell you what&#8217;s gonna happen. A Democrat is gonna be elected in 2028, you know that, I know that,&#8221; he declared. &#8220;There&#8217;s gonna be a Democratic House, there&#8217;s gonna be a Democratic Senate. The Democratic president is gonna announce a special transition advisory committee on the reform of the Supreme Court.&#8221;
Carville said they would claim that the Supreme Court &#8220;has lost the faith and trust of the American people&#8221; and use that to justify recommending packing the court to restore &#8220;balance&#8221; and thus restore faith in the institution. And while he did not explicitly predict the end of the filibuster, it is far more likely that Democrats would have a simple majority in the Senate rather than a filibuster-proof majority going into 2028 — meaning that in order to pass such a controversial measure, they might be forced to first address the filibuster.
&#8220;They&#8217;re going to recommend that the number of Supreme Court Justices go from nine to 13. That&#8217;s gonna happen, people,&#8221; he insisted. &#8220;That&#8217;s gonna happen to you. They&#8217;re going to win, they&#8217;re gonna do some blue ribbon panel of distinguished jurists, and they&#8217;re going to recommend 13 and a Democratic Senate and House are going to pass it and the Democratic president is going to sign it, because they have to do an intervention so we can have a Supreme Court that the American people trust again.&#8221;
&#8220;I would bet a lot of money that that&#8217;s gonna happen,&#8221; he said.
Holder said something similar just two days earlier, claiming that the district court judges had been doing a great job in trying to check President Trump — but that the Supreme Court was damaging its own reputation.
&#8220;It pains me to do this, but I think the Supreme Court is a broken institution,&#8221; he said, and much like Carville said, he argued that if Democrats control the House, Senate, and White House, they would have to do something to address the fact that the court persists in ruling against Democrat interests.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former AG Eric Holder says that SCOTUS is a &#8220;broken institution&#8221; now that they&#8217;ve ruled in favor of the Trump administration on key cases.
Translation: When/If Democrats retake control of DC, they will immediately move to abolish the filibuster and pack the court.
Dangerous. <a href="https://t.co/J2BNTP3Akm">pic.twitter.com/J2BNTP3Akm</a>
— Media Lies (@MediasLies) <a href="https://twitter.com/MediasLies/status/1985732240781799445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Politicon 2019 – Day 1

Two Key Leftists Predict Dems Will Obliterate Supreme Court As We Know It

Supreme Court

President Donald Trump on Wednesday argued that by getting rid of the filibuster, Republicans would win so much that Democrats would be hard-pressed to take over the Senate.
Trump has called for ending the Senate filibuster, which sets the threshold to pass most legislation through the upper chamber at 60 votes, and reducing the bar to pass bills to a simple majority. The president has pushed to end the rule in order to end the government shutdown.
The president <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1986214960398049694">reiterated</a> his call to end the filibuster during an interview with Fox News that aired on Wednesday evening. Trump downplayed concerns about ending the longstanding Senate rule to Fox host Bret Baier, saying that without the filibuster in place, the GOP would be so successful that the Democrats would be unlikely to retake the chamber.
“I think that if we got rid of the filibuster, we would approve so many good things, common sense things, wonderful things that it would be hard to beat us,” said Trump. “If we don&#8217;t, it&#8217;s always going to be a slog.”
“I have no doubt in my mind, get rid of it,” he continued. 
The president admitted that the choice to push for ending the filibuster is tough, not just for the consequences of a potential Democrat takeover, but because of the feelings of his allies in the Senate who disagree with the need to end the filibuster.
Senate Democrats have rejected a continuing resolution, which would continue to fund the government at status quo levels, over a dozen times since they withheld their votes to bring the government into a shutdown last month. Democratic leaders have argued that the shutdown is necessary to protect government healthcare subsidies.
Republicans have offered continuing resolutions to fund the government for a short period of time to create room for negotiations over the budget.
On Tuesday, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-crazed-democratic-lunatics-blocking-americas-comeback-filibuster-must-go">argued</a> that midterm elections would be much tougher for Republicans with the filibuster still in place.
“The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED. Elections, including the Midterms, will be rightfully brutal.”

Trump Says Scrapping Filibuster Would Make GOP Tough To Beat

President Donald Trump ramped up his pressure campaign to end the filibuster on Wednesday, telling Republican senators in a White House meeting that it’s “very important” for the GOP to “terminate the filibuster” and reopen the government.
In the past week, Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-crazed-democratic-lunatics-blocking-americas-comeback-filibuster-must-go?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=21&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump%3A+%E2%80%98Crazed+Democratic+Lunatics%E2%80%99+Blocking+America%E2%80%99s+Comeback+%E2%80%93+Filibuster+Must+Go%21">called</a> for the end of the filibuster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-wants-republicans-to-hit-stone-cold-crazy-dems-with-ultimate-trump-card-in-shutdown-fight">multiple times</a> as Democrats continue to block GOP efforts to pass a short-term spending bill to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Trump took another step in his call for the end of the filibuster in Wednesday’s meeting, making his plea directly to Republican senators.
Trump suggested that Republicans should end the filibuster as soon as “this afternoon.”
“I think it’s very important. We have to get the country open, and the way we’re going to do it this afternoon is to terminate the filibuster,” he said. “And it’s possible you’re not going to do that, and I’m going to go by your wishes. You’re smart people. We&#8217;re good friends, but it would be a tremendous mistake, it would be a tragic mistake, actually. It’s time.”
The filibuster allows senators to prolong debate on legislation; 60 votes are needed to end a filibuster and proceed to a vote on a bill. The minority party often uses the filibuster to block votes on bills pushed by the ruling party. Republicans have cautioned against ending the filibuster, saying that it would set a precedent that would also be used against the GOP in the future. Trump, however, argued that Democrats will nuke the filibuster the next time they have power.
“We have to do it first,” the president said. “We’ll end up with two, three years, and we’ll have this country so perfect. We will have passed more legislation than any Congress and any group of senators or group of congressmen. … It will be a beautiful machine. Otherwise, we’re just going to sit around and argue with these people all day long, and they’re highly unrealistic. Many of them are radical Left subversives, frankly.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> to GOP Senators: &#8220;I think it&#8217;s very important. We have to get the country open, and the way we&#8217;re going to do it&#8230; is to terminate the filibuster&#8230; It&#8217;s time, it&#8217;s time&#8230; We&#8217;ll end up with two, three years, and we&#8217;ll have this country so perfect.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Clrd60V7nS">pic.twitter.com/Clrd60V7nS</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1986067842295287839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump added that keeping the filibuster alive would ultimately hurt Republicans.
“If [Democrats] take power, and it’s more likely that they take power if we don’t [end the filibuster] because we won’t be passing any legislation,” he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;If I thought that they weren&#8217;t going to pass the filibuster, I wouldn&#8217;t even bring it up. They&#8217;re going to pass it within the first hour&#8230; if [Democrats] take power&#8230; they&#8217;ll wreak havoc.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/ogxZN6PkVT">pic.twitter.com/ogxZN6PkVT</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1986065444256510330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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After the media left the room and cameras were turned off, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly disagreed with Trump on this point, and the two engaged in a “spirited back-and-forth,” according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-government-shutdown-election-11-05-25?post-id=cmhm47vi100053b6oy3rv3tl7">CNN</a>.
During his remarks, the president argued that if Democrats refuse to agree to a simple bill to extend government funding for even a short period, they won’t negotiate any significant legislation.
“We should start tonight with the country is open, congratulations, and then we should pass voter ID. We should pass no mail-in voting. We should pass all the things that we want to pass to make elections secure and safe,” Trump continued. “Because California is a disaster, many of the states are disasters.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> to Republican Senators: &#8220;It&#8217;s time for Republicans to do what they have to do — and that&#8217;s terminate the filibuster.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/BMUKPybb9a">pic.twitter.com/BMUKPybb9a</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1986065143478776187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump’s comments on Wednesday morning came hours after Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/04/trump-filibuster-republican-senators-shutdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the president was preparing to ramp up pressure on Republican senators. One anonymous Trump adviser told Axios that the president planned on making GOP senators’ lives “a living hell.” Another anonymous adviser cited by Axios said that Trump is “really mad about this.”
As of last week, Republican Senate leadership remained “unchanged” in its support for the filibuster. The office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-leaders-stance-on-filibuster-remains-unchanged-as-trump-pushes-nuclear-option">The Daily Wire</a> last Friday that they continue to support the filibuster. Thune <a href="https://x.com/burgessev/status/1986092191383502925">told</a> reporters on Wednesday morning, “I know where math is on this issue in the Senate. It’s just not happening.”
When former President Joe Biden was in office with majorities in the House and Senate, some Democrats pushed for party leaders in the Senate to end the filibuster to pass leftist priorities, such as abortion protections, gun control, and packing the Supreme Court. Democrats’ efforts to eliminate the filibuster in 2021 were ultimately stopped by former moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Trump Demands Action From GOP Senators, Wants Filibuster Terminated ‘This Afternoon’

Executive

Senate Republicans

As voters head to the polls on Election Day, President Donald Trump reiterated his call to abolish the Senate filibuster.
The appeal was part of a recurring effort, echoing similar demands he made during past legislative standoffs when he urged Republicans to invoke the “nuclear option,” — a change to Senate rules that would allow most legislation to pass with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes.
“The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes,” he wrote on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115491634358714159">Truth Social</a>. “FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED. Elections, including the Midterms, will be rightfully brutal.”
“If we do terminate the Filibuster, we will get EVERYTHING approved, like no Congress in History,” he continued. “We will have FAIR, FREE, and SAFE Elections, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everybody, Strong Borders, Major Tax and Energy Cuts, and will secure our Second Amendment, which the Democrats will also terminate, IMMEDIATELY. If we don’t do it, they are far more likely to do well in the upcoming Elections, which would mean a PACKED Supreme Court, 2 more States and 4 more Democrat Senators (D.C. and Puerto Rico), and 8 more Electoral Votes.”
Trump characterized Democratic senators as being ready to abolish the filibuster themselves, claiming that only retiring Sen. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema prevented its removal when Democrats controlled the chamber.​
“Remember, Republicans, they are going to end the Filibuster as soon as they get the chance,” he cautioned. “We know this because they already tried, and the only two people who didn’t go along are now out of office. But they have much less chance of WINNING if we have Great Policy Wins after Wins after Wins. IN FACT, THEY WILL LOSE BIG, AND FOR A VERY LONG TIME. TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER NOW, END THE RIDICULOUS SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATELY, AND THEN, MOST IMPORTANTLY, PASS EVERY WONDERFUL REPUBLICAN POLICY THAT WE HAVE DREAMT OF, FOR YEARS, BUT NEVER GOTTEN. WE WILL BE THE PARTY THAT CANNOT BE BEATEN &#8211; THE SMART PARTY!!!”
This pressure occurred during the 31-day shutdown and intensified as critical programs such as SNAP benefits and ACA health insurance faced lapses due to a congressional stalemate.​​
Democrats have aggressively campaigned to weaken or abolish the filibuster during their periods of control, in particular during the Biden administration. Their main targets included voting rights expansion, codifying abortion rights, and gun reform legislation. Numerous Democratic senators and candidates endorsed various reform proposals, including shifting to a “talking filibuster” or scrapping the 60-vote threshold entirely.
Many leading Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, have opposed abolishing the filibuster, pointing out that Democrats would push extreme policies unchecked if they regain the majority, such as statehood for Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, gun control, and court packing.
The Senate filibuster is a cornerstone of American legislative procedure. It allows a minority of senators to extend debate on a pending bill indefinitely, preventing a final vote unless three-fifths (60 out of 100) senators agree to end the discussion, an action known as “invoking cloture.” This mechanism means that even a small group of senators — or a single determined senator — can derail or postpone legislation if the majority cannot unite on 60 votes.​

Trump Strikes Deal With German Merck On Tariffs, IVF Costs

Trump: ‘Crazed Democratic Lunatics’ Blocking America’s Comeback – Filibuster Must Go!

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