WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster so the Republican majority can bypass Democrats and reopen the federal government.

“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR: INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump posted Thursday night on his social media site, Truth Social.

The filibuster is a long-standing tactic in the Senate used to delay or block votes on legislation by keeping the debate running. It requires 60 votes in a full Senate to overcome a filibuster, giving Democrats a check on the 53-seat Republican majority. This deadlock contributed to the start of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year began.

Trump’s call to terminate the filibuster could alter the way the Senate and congressional dealmaking operate. In his post, the president said he gave a “great deal” of thought to the choice during his flight back from Asia on Thursday.

Over the past week, Trump met with foreign leaders in Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, finishing his tour by meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The president declared the trip a success due to a trade truce with China and foreign investment planned for American industries. However, one question kept coming up during his trip: why did “powerful Republicans allow” the Democrats to shut down parts of the government?

His call to end the filibuster comes at a moment when certain senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson believe it is time for the government shutdown to end. It remains unclear if lawmakers will follow Trump’s lead or continue seeking ways to negotiate with Democrats.

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From coast to coast, fallout from the federal government shutdown is hitting home.

In Alaska, residents are stockpiling moose, caribou, and fish for winter, even before SNAP food aid is scheduled to shut off. Mainers are filling up their home-heating oil tanks but are still waiting on federal subsidies that have yet to materialize. Flights are being delayed as holiday travel approaches. Federal workers are going without paychecks. Meanwhile, Americans are getting a first glimpse of skyrocketing health care insurance costs that lie at the heart of the Capitol Hill stalemate.

“People are stressing,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as food options in her state grow scarce. “We are well past time to have this behind us.”

While quiet talks are underway, particularly among bipartisan senators, the shutdown is not expected to end before Saturday’s deadline. At that point, the nation’s deep food insecurity—one in eight people depend on the government to have enough to eat—could become starkly visible if federal SNAP funds run dry.

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**Money for Military, but Not Food Aid**

The White House has moved money around to ensure the military is paid but refuses to allocate funds for food aid. In fact, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” signed into law this summer, delivered the most substantial cut ever to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), projected to result in some 2.4 million people losing access to the program.

At the same time, many Americans who purchase their own health insurance through federal and state marketplaces—whose open enrollment also begins Saturday—are experiencing sticker shock as premium prices soar.

“We are holding food over the heads of poor people so that we can take away their health care,” said Rev. Ryan Stoess during a prayer with religious leaders at the U.S. Capitol. “God help us,” he added, “when the cruelty is the point.”

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**Deadlines Shift to Next Week**

The House remains closed under Speaker Johnson’s leadership for the past month. Senators are preparing to depart Thursday for the long weekend. Trump returns late Thursday after his whirlwind Asia tour.

This means the shutdown, now in its 30th day, appears likely to continue into another week if the filibuster remains.

If it persists, the shutdown could become the longest in history, surpassing the 35-day lapse that ended in 2019 during Trump’s first term over his demands to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The next inflection point will come after Tuesday’s off-year elections, including the New York City mayoral race and governor races in Virginia and New Jersey. Many expect that once those winners and losers are declared, and both parties assess their political standing with voters, lawmakers might be ready to hunker down for a deal.

“I hope that it frees people up to move forward with opening the government,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

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**GOP Cut SNAP in Trump’s Big Bill**

Republicans, who have majority control of Congress, find themselves in an unusual position—defending furloughed federal workers and shuttered programs they previously sought to cut. This includes nearly $1 trillion in reductions in Trump’s big tax breaks and spending bill.

Medicaid and SNAP suffered sizable blows this summer, partly by imposing new work requirements. For SNAP recipients, many of whom were already required to work, the new requirements extend to older Americans up to age 64 and parents of older school-age children.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans now “have the nerve” to suggest it’s a political strategy to withhold food aid.

“We are trying to lift up the quality of life for the American people,” Jeffries of New York said. “The American people understand that there’s a Republican health care crisis. The American people understand Republicans enacted the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history when they cut $186 billion from their one, big, ugly bill.”

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During the summer debate over Trump’s big bill, Johnson and other Republicans criticized what they characterized as lazy Americans, riding what the House speaker calls the “gravy train” of government benefits.

Johnson spoke of able-bodied young men playing video games while receiving Medicaid benefits and insisted the new work requirements for aid programs would weed out what they called “waste, fraud and abuse.”

“What we’re talking about, again, is able-bodied workers, many of whom are refusing to work because they’re gaming the system,” Johnson said in spring on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And when we make them work, it’ll be better for everybody—a win-win-win for all,” he added.

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What remains out of reach, for now, is relief from the new health care prices posted this week. These increases are expected to put insurance out of reach for many Americans when federal subsidies that help offset those costs expire at the end of the year.

Democrats have been holding out for negotiations with Trump and Republicans to keep those subsidies in place. Republicans say they can address the issue later, once the government reopens.
https://whdh.com/news/trump-says-senate-should-scrap-the-filibuster-to-end-the-government-shutdown/