By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republicans on Friday showed little sign of heeding President Donald Trump’s latest call to jettison the Senate filibuster and bypass a Democratic roadblock to reopening the partially shuttered federal government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has repeatedly defended the filibuster for years, has not changed his position on the importance of the long-standing rule, a spokesperson said hours after Trump took to social media to call for its removal.
“It is now time for the 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 wrote on social media late on Thursday.
Senator John Curtis of Utah, a member of Thune’s Republican majority, also went on the record to defend the filibuster on Friday. “The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate. Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it,” Curtis wrote on the social media platform X.
The filibuster requires 60 of the Senate’s 100 members to agree on most legislation before it can pass. Thune, of South Dakota, and many other senators view the rule as a crucial check against rampant majority rule because it requires bipartisanship and compromise. Democrats have also at times discussed ending the filibuster, most recently early in President Joe Biden’s term when they held control of the House and Senate.
DEMOCRAT VOTES NEEDED TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT
Republicans have only 53 Senate seats, meaning they need at least seven Democrats ori/strong>ndependents to reopen the federal government. But in repeated votes since federal agencies shut on October 1, just three Democrats have been willing to support funding legislation.
“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,” House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Friday. He described Trump’s call to end the rule as a measure of the president’s frustration over the shutdown.
“He is as angry as I am and the American people are about this madness. And he just desperately wants the government to be reopened,” Johnson said.
Democrats want Republicans to negotiate an extension of federal tax credits to help Americans purchase private health insurance before funding the government. Republicans want the government reopened before beginning negotiations.
As a result of the impasse, nearly 42 million Americans will begin losing food assistance on Saturday, when funding for food stamp benefits is expected to lapse.
About 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed since government funding ended. The Trump administration has taken steps to pay troops, federal law enforcement and immigration officers. Other federal employees are working without pay.
The shutdown could cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, shaving up to 2% from gross domestic product in the fourth quarter due to the lapse in government spending, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio)
