President Trump urged Republican senators to get rid of the filibuster as he had breakfast with them the day the government shutdown became the longest in history, but the Senate’s GOP leader said such a move isn’t achievable.
The shutdown hit day 36 on Wednesday. The second-longest shutdown came in his first administration.
The president repeated his calls for Republicans to execute the nuclear option, code for doing away with the filibuster, so legislation can get passed and the shutdown ended.
“It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that’s terminate the filibuster; it’s the only way you can do it,” he said at breakfast at the White House. “And if you don’t terminate the filibuster, you’ll be in bad shape. We won’t pass any legislation. There’ll be no legislation passed for three and a quarter years.”
Some Senate Republicans oppose killing the filibuster, which is a primary rule that differentiates the upper chamber from the House.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, told reporters that Mr. Trump may have influenced some GOP senators’ thinking on the filibuster but not enough to end it. That would require 51 Republican votes, which Mr. Thune said are not there.
The president is “obviously very influential, and our members want to do everything they can to be good partners and help him implement his agenda,” he said. “So I don’t doubt that he could have some sway with members, but I just know where the math is on this issue in the Senate, and it’s just not happening.”
The filibustering by Senate Democrats has caused a stopgap spending bill to be blocked 13 times over the expansion of Obamacare premium subsidies that are set to expire this year.
“We should start tonight with the country’s open congratulations. Then we should pass voter ID. We should pass no mail-in voting. We should pass all the things that we want to pass, make our election secure and safer,” Mr. Trump said.
He said Democrats themselves would nuke the filibuster if they were in power, which would lead to a packed Supreme Court and statehood for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, which would gain a Democratic majority in the Senate and increase electoral votes.
He said he would leave the decision of terminating the filibuster up to Senate Republicans, calling them “very smart people.”
“It’s possible you’re not going to do that, and I’m going to go by your wishes; you’re very smart people, we’re good friends, but I think it’s a tremendous mistake,” he said. “It would be a tragic mistake. It’s time.”
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this story.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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