The office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Friday that his support for the filibuster remains "unchanged" despite President Donald Trump's call to eliminate it, The Hill reported.
Trump is calling for Thune to use the "nuclear option" — eliminating the Senate filibuster rule to lower the chamber's 60-vote threshold — to reopen the government.
"Leader Thune's position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged," a spokesman for Thune told NewsNation.
Thune last week called the move a "bad idea." He's aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who also disagreed with using the tactic to end the shutdown.
"If the shoe was on the other foot, I don't think our team would like it," Johnson told reporters Friday.
The filibuster is the Senate rule that requires 60 of the chamber's 100 members to agree to pass most legislation. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
"It is now time for the Republicans to play their 'TRUMP CARD,' and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW," Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social.
Trump's call came after Senate Democrats voted for the 13th time to keep the government closed.
Thune vowed to preserve the filibuster when he ran to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as Republican leader and again during his maiden speech as leader.
"One of my priorities as leader will be to ensure that the Senate stays the Senate. That means preserving the legislative filibuster, the Senate rule that ... perhaps has the greatest impact on preserving the Founders' vision of the United States Senate," he said on Jan. 2.
While Thune's leadership team and most GOP senators are against nuking the filibuster, multiple chamber Republicans have floated the idea.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., called it a "viable option" to end the impasse. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Democrats are "gonna force" Republicans to nuke the filibuster.
"I'm not willing to see children in my state go hungry ... over some Senate procedure," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said last week.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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