Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rick Scott of Florida told Newsmax on Thursday that the GOP may have no choice but to eliminate the Senate filibuster before Democrats regain unified power and move to abolish it themselves.
Appearing together on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Johnson said Democrats have already signaled their intention to scrap the 60-vote rule, noting that the two Democrat senators who previously opposed ending the filibuster are now gone.
"It's a sad fact that Democrats have purged the two senators who opposed ending the filibuster," Johnson told Newsmax. "My guess is every Democrat Senate candidate will also pledge to end the filibuster. Once Democrats regain power, they will end it — and they will end it so that they can maintain their power. It's all about power for them."
Johnson said he believes the filibuster has historically benefited the Senate as an institution, but insisted Republicans cannot ignore political reality.
"I sadly agree with President [Donald] Trump that we probably ought to act first," Johnson said, arguing Republicans would use the simple-majority power "for the benefit of the American public," including securing the border, strengthening elections, repairing damage from Obamacare, and revitalizing the economy.
Scott agreed that the GOP cannot rule out the option.
"I think everything's got to be on the table," Scott told Schmitt.
He noted that Republicans have already changed the Senate's nomination process after Democrats repeatedly blocked GOP nominees.
"If they're going to continue to do what they're doing, it doesn't look like we have any choice but to change this," Scott said.
While he said it would be "better for the institution" to keep the filibuster, he argued Democrats' recent conduct — including the handling of the government shutdown — has left Republicans little room.
"This shutdown was ridiculous," Scott said. "People didn't get their food stamps. You saw what happened to our airline[s]. Our military wasn't getting paid. It makes no sense what the Democrats are doing."
Scott echoed Johnson's warning that Democrats view the filibuster purely as a mechanism of political advantage.
"Like Sen. Johnson said, for them it's all about power," Scott said.
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