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Chip Roy Suggests 'Nuclear Option' to End Senate Stalemate

By    |   Monday, 20 October 2025 02:09 PM EDT

The Senate needs to consider the "nuclear option" to end the Democrats' government shutdown, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Monday.

Speaking to reporters, Roy urged Senate Republicans to explore bypassing the chamber's 60-vote filibuster threshold, a move known as the nuclear option, to force through a continuing resolution to reopen the federal government, The Hill reported.

"We need to be taking a look at the 60-vote threshold. We really do," Roy said, adding that the Senate's supermajority rule has left Republicans "beholden to a broken system."

The House passed a clean CR two weeks ago, but Senate Democrats have blocked it 10 times under current rules, insisting that any funding bill must include guarantees to extend Obamacare health subsidies.

"Why don't we just say, Look, we have a 50-vote threshold for the budget, we have a 50-vote threshold for reconciliation — why shouldn't we have a 50-vote threshold to fund the government?" Roy asked.

Roy is among a small but growing number of Republicans — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio — calling for the GOP-led Senate to consider the extraordinary step.

The nuclear option would let Republicans change Senate rules by a simple majority vote, eliminating the filibuster on legislation.

However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has rejected the idea, even amid rumors the White House might be pushing for the move.

"There's always a lot of swirl out there from social media, but no, I have not had that conversation," Thune said this month, Politico reported.

Thune, who made preserving the filibuster a top priority when he became majority leader in January, has said the rule protects both parties from overreach.

Roy said, "Look, I like being able to block bad things with 60 votes. But it feels like a one-way ratchet.

"Democrats were willing to blow it up when it suited them. Maybe Republicans need to take a long, hard look at it too."

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has also warned against the idea.

"Is it wise? You can have a lot of people who would tell you it's not," Johnson said. "I would be deeply concerned if Democrats had a bare majority in the Senate right now.

"Do I want them to have no safeguards and no stumbling blocks at all? I don't think that's a great idea."

Meanwhile, the shutdown stretched into its third week Monday with little sign of progress.

Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked the GOP stopgap measure on a 51–45 vote, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed and others working without pay.

Democrats have insisted that they won't support reopening the government without a firm commitment to extend Obamacare premium subsidies set to expire next year.

Thune has offered to hold a separate vote on health care once the government is reopened, but Democrats remain unmoved.

"The ACA [Affordable Care Act] crisis is looming over everyone's head," Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer said. "Republicans seem ready to let people's premiums spike."

For now, the Senate remains at an impasse — and as pressure mounts, Roy says the nuclear option may be Republicans' only way out.

"If Democrats keep holding America hostage," he said, "it's time for Republicans to act."

 

Charlie McCarthy

Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Politics
The Senate needs to consider the "nuclear option" to end the Democrats' government shutdown, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Monday.
chiproy, suggests, nuclear, option, senate, shutdown
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2025-09-20
Monday, 20 October 2025 02:09 PM
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