Trump presses Senate GOP on ‘nuclear option’ to end government shutdown

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

“The choice is clear – start with the nuclear option and get rid of the filibuster,” Trump wrote Thursday night on his social media site, Truth Social.

Read more: Medicare patients are going without needed treatment as the government shutdown disrupts telehealth

The filibuster is a long-standing tactic in the Senate to delay or prevent votes on legislation by keeping debate going. It takes 60 votes in the full Senate to overcome a filibuster, giving Democrats control of the 53-seat Republican majority that triggered the shutdown on Oct. 1 when the new fiscal year began.

Trump’s call to end the filibuster could change the ways the Senate and Congress work on deals, with the president saying in his post that he thought “a lot” about the choice as he returned from Asia on Thursday.

He watches: The government shutdown reaches its fifth week as important deadlines approach

Trump spent last week with foreign leaders in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, and ended his tour by meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The president declared the trip a success because of the trade truce with China and planned foreign investment for American industries, but said a question remained during his time there about why “strong Republicans” were allowing Democrats to shut down parts of the government.

His call to end the filibuster came at a time when some senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson thought it was time to end the government shutdown. It is unclear whether lawmakers will follow Trump’s lead, instead of finding ways to negotiate with Democrats.

He watches: Duffy warns of holiday travel disruptions if lockdown doesn’t end soon

From coast to coast, the fallout from the dysfunction of a shuttered federal government is hitting home: Alaskans are stocking up on moose, caribou and fish for the winter, even before SNAP food aid is scheduled to stop. Mainers are filling oil tanks to heat their homes, but they are waiting for federal subsidies that are not on the horizon.

Flights are being delayed as holiday travel approaches. Workers go without salaries. Americans are getting their first look at the skyrocketing health care insurance costs that are at the heart of the impasse on Capitol Hill.

“People are feeling stressed,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as food options become increasingly scarce in her state.

Read more: Judge questions Trump administration plan to suspend SNAP benefits for millions

“It’s long past time to put this behind us.”

While quiet talks are taking place, especially between bipartisan senators, the shutdown is not expected to end before Saturday’s deadline when Americans’ deep food insecurity — one in eight people depend on the government for enough food — will become starkly evident if federal SNAP funds dry up.

Money for the military, but not for food aid

The White House transferred funds to ensure the payment of army salaries, but it refuses to benefit from the funds allocated for food aid. In fact, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” signed into law this summer, was the largest cut ever to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which is expected to take about 2.4 million people out of the program.

At the same time, many Americans who buy their health insurance through the federal and state markets, with open enrollment also starting Saturday, are experiencing a severe shock as premium prices rise.

Read more: Last-minute scrambles for wages are taking a toll on military families during the shutdown

“We are holding food over the heads of poor people so we can deny them health care,” said the Rev. Ryan Stause, during a prayer with religious leaders at the U.S. Capitol.

He said: “May God help us when cruelty is the goal.”

Deadlines shift to next week

The House of Representatives has remained closed under Johnson for the past month. Senators are preparing to leave on Thursday for the long weekend. Trump returns on Thursday evening after a quick tour in Asia.

This means that the lockdown, in its 30th day, looks likely to extend for another week if the procrastination continues. If the closure continues, it could become the longest in history, surpassing the 35-day period that ended in 2019, during Trump’s first term, due to his demand to build the border wall between the United States and Mexico.

The next turning point comes after Tuesday’s off-year election — the New York City mayor’s race, as well as elections in Virginia and New Jersey that will determine those states’ governors. Many expect that once winners and losers are announced, and Democrats and Republicans weigh their political positions before voters, they may be ready to reach an agreement.

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

GOP cuts SNAP in Trump’s big bill

Republicans, who control the majority in Congress, find themselves in an unusual position, defending furloughed federal workers and shuttered programs they have long sought to cut — including most recently nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Trump’s large tax breaks and spending bill.

Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP took big hits this summer, in part because of new work requirements. For SNAP recipients, many of whom are 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 audacity” to suggest that withholding food aid is a political strategy.

“We’re trying to improve the quality of life for the American people,” New York’s Jeffries said of his party.

“The American people realize there is a Republican health care crisis,” he said. “The American people know that Republicans issued the largest food aid cuts in American history when they cut $186 billion from their big, ugly bill.”

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

The speaker talked about healthy young people playing video games while receiving health care benefits from Medicaid and insisted that new work requirements for assistance programs would eliminate what they called “waste, fraud and abuse.”

“What we’re talking about, again, are healthy workers, many of whom are refusing to work because they’re gaming the system,” Johnson said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” in the spring.

“And when we make it work, it will be better for everyone, and it will be a win-win for everyone,” he added.

What remains elusive, for now, is any relief from new health care rates announced this week, which 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 are awaiting negotiations with Trump and Republicans to maintain this support. Republicans say they can address the issue later, once the government reopens.

Associated Press writers Matt Brown and Josh Boak in Tokyo contributed to this report.