President Donald Trump is berating his own party in a bid to force Republican senators to do his bidding and finally kill the filibuster.
In an early morning Truth Social rant that kicked off at around 6:30 a.m. and weaved between Iran, Ukraine, and former President Joe Biden, the 79-year-old eventually landed on his own party. “When is ‘enough, enough’ for our Republican Senators,” he moaned.
“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.”
Trump has repeatedly hounded Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to pass his legislative agenda by partisan vote. The rule effectively requires 60 votes to pass most legislation, leaving a DHS funding deal stalled and his SAVE America Act without the required votes. Earlier this week, he said that bill was “far more important than anything else,” including the DHS funding dispute that has led to a partial government shutdown.
He used the TSA staffing crisis caused by the shutdown as political leverage, framing it as an emergency that justifies the nuclear option.
He added that he wants all five provisions of his bill passed as part of any deal. “Also, add the complete, all five items, SAVE AMERICA ACT items,” he wrote.
This includes his hypocritical mail-in voting restrictions, citizenship proof requirements, and other election measures. Critics have warned that the measures seem designed to mitigate Republican losses in the upcoming midterm elections by creating extra barriers to voting.
Republican senators have historically been reluctant to kill the filibuster because it protects their own power when they are in the minority. In urging them to nix it, Trump wrote: “Go for the Gold!!!”
“TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!” he added in a separate post, for dramatic effect. Minutes later, he took aim at House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Chuck Schumer, a desperate, crippled politician, who has lost control of the Radical Left Democrats, will make a deal now because he thinks that if he doesn’t, Republicans will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, something which they should do whether he makes a deal or not!!!”
Despite his demands, Sen. John Thune delivered a blunt “reality” check to Trump on this very matter earlier this month. “The votes aren’t there, one, to nuke the filibuster, and the votes aren’t there for a talking filibuster,” Thune said. “It’s just a reality.”
