What is the filibuster and why does Trump want to get rid of it during the shutdown?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Appearing frustrated by the government shutdown and Democrats’ unwillingness to accept a Republican funding bill, President Donald Trump is once again calling on the Senate to eliminate the legislative filibuster.

The filibuster is a long-standing parliamentary tool that stops work on most bills unless 60 members of the 100-member Senate vote to move forward. Over the years, this maneuver has hindered the policy priorities of Democrats and Republicans alike, and Trump has been complaining about this maneuver since his first term in the White House.

He said getting rid of it would be a way for Republicans to end the month-long shutdown immediately. “It is now time for Republicans to play their ‘trump card’ and move toward the so-called nuclear option – get rid of the filibuster, get rid of it now!” the president wrote on his social media site Thursday evening.

He watches: Johnson says Trump’s request to end filibuster ‘is not my call’

But majority Republicans have staunchly resisted calls to eliminate the legislative filibuster, because it would weaken their power if they were back in the minority again. At its best, disruption encourages compromise and deal-making.

Here are some frequently asked questions about deactivation, and why it’s now appearing in the deactivation discussion.

What is disruption?

Unlike the House, the Senate places few restrictions on lawmakers’ right to speak. But senators can use the chamber’s rules to obstruct or block votes. That’s what actually counts as a filibuster — a term that began to emerge in the mid-1800s, according to Senate records.

The filibuster is not in the Constitution and was not part of the Founding Fathers’ vision for the Senate. It was inadvertently created after Vice President Aaron Burr complained in 1805 that the chamber’s rule book was redundant and too complex, according to historians.

But how the filibuster is used today bears no resemblance to the general public’s perception of the tactic, made famous by the 1939 film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” in which James Stewart played a senator who talks on the floor until exhaustion.

Now, senators are telling their leaders — and often confirming it publicly — that they will filibuster the bill. No need for lengthy letters. However, the Senate still needs to muster 60 votes to pass this hurdle. If they get that, senators can move on to final passage, which requires only a simple majority.

Wait – isn’t the filibuster already over?

Yes, but only for nominations. In 2013, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., led Senate Democrats in eliminating the filibuster for all but Supreme Court nominees, triggering what is known in the Senate as the “nuclear option.” Democrats are tired of Republican stonewalling of President Barack Obama’s nominees, especially to the influential US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, then the minority leader, sternly warned Democrats that they would regret having nuclear weapons. He returned the favor in 2017, when Republicans moved to eliminate the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees when they confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Trump mentioned in his Truth Social post that eliminating the filibuster would help Republicans get “the best judges” and “the best American lawyers,” but it’s unclear what he meant because he only needs a simple majority to confirm those picks.

Democrats came close to eliminating the legislative filibuster on voting rights legislation in 2022, but faced resistance from then-Senators. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. They said changes to filibuster policy would haunt Democrats if Republicans regained control of Congress and the White House, which the GOP did soon after.

Earlier this year, Republicans further changed Senate rules to make it easier to confirm large groups of less controversial executive branch nominees. But they have resisted Trump’s calls to eliminate so-called “blue slips” that allow two senators to sign over certain lower court judges regardless of party.

What does this have to do with suspension?

As with any government funding bill — and most other legislation — Republicans need help from at least a handful of Democrats to get past the 60-vote threshold in the Senate since they control just 53 votes.

In exchange for their votes on the temporary funding bill, most Democrats are demanding an extension of subsidies for people who buy health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say that’s expensive, especially for a bill that keeps the federal government running for only seven weeks.

Democrats say that because the Senate needs 60 votes to advance funding bills, that gives them leverage. As the shutdown continues, frustrated Republicans have floated the idea of ​​getting rid of the filibuster in order to erase that influence.

“Maybe it’s time to think about the filibuster,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said on Fox News earlier this month. “Let’s just vote with Republicans. We have 52 Republicans. Let’s go, let’s open the government. We might get there.” (There are 53 GOP senators, but one of them — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — is committed to vetoing the funding bills.)

Where do Republicans stand on getting rid of the filibuster?

Unlike many other demands made by Trump, GOP senators have generally resisted his calls to get rid of the filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has long championed the filibuster, and began his term as the top Senate official in January vowing to preserve it.

He reiterated those sentiments in early October, saying that the filibuster is “something that makes the Senate the Senate” and that “the 60-vote threshold protects this country.” His spokesman confirmed on Friday after Trump’s comments that Thune’s position had not changed.

Veteran senators who have seen the chamber swing back and forth from Democratic to Republican control are generally the most stringent on maintaining the filibuster. But even some new members agree.

“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate,” Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, elected in 2024, said on social media on Friday. “Power changes from one hand to another, but principles should not change. I strongly reject its elimination.”

House Republicans often weigh in on the Senate’s strategy, urging GOP senators to follow Trump’s wishes to eliminate the filibuster. But House members – unfortunately for them – have no influence over what the Senate does.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he texted the president after Trump’s late-night request but declined to comment publicly on the filibuster.

“It’s not my call,” Johnson said during his daily news conference at the Capitol.