Former U.S. President Donald Trump is calling on Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster as the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week.
In a late-night Truth Social post after returning from a trip to Asia, Trump urged the GOP to use the “nuclear option” to break the deadlock and push their agenda through Congress. The filibuster currently requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the Senate—far above a simple majority.
Trump argued that with Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House, they should “play their Trump card” and “Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!”
He questioned how Democrats were able to “shut down the United States of America” and criticized Republicans for allowing it. While praising Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, he slammed Democrats as “crazed lunatics” blocking funding over unrelated demands.
Trump accused Democrats of trying to divert “trillions of dollars” from the U.S. healthcare system to people he claimed were “not deserving,” including undocumented immigrants and individuals from foreign prisons or mental institutions.
He also noted that Democrats themselves attempted to scrap the filibuster during the Biden administration, a move that failed due to opposition from then-Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema—both now independents.
According to Trump, abolishing the filibuster would instantly end the “ridiculous, country-destroying shutdown” and give Republicans the power to confirm “the best judges, the best U.S. attorneys, the best of everything.”
He referenced the 2013 move by then–Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who removed the 60-vote threshold for most executive and judicial nominees—saying Republicans should now turn that precedent to their advantage.
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