US President Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster so that the Republican majority can bypass Democrats and reopen the federal government.
“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump posted Thursday night on his social media site, Truth Social.
Trump spent the previous week meeting with foreign leaders in Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, concluding his trip with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He described the trip as a success, citing a trade truce with China and promises of foreign investment in U.S. industries. However, he noted that one recurring question during his visit was why “powerful Republicans allowed” Democrats to shut down parts of the government.
What is the nuclear option in the Senate?
The “nuclear option” in the U.S. Senate refers to a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to change its rules, specifically those governing the filibuster, by a simple majority vote (51 votes) instead of the usual two-thirds supermajority (67 votes) required to amend Senate rules.
What is a filibuster?
The filibuster, a Senate rule that typically requires 60 votes to advance legislation, has long been a point of contention in Washington. Trump pointed out that several Democratic senators, including those under then-President Joe Biden, had previously called for changes to the rule to safeguard voting rights and abortion access.
However, those proposals failed to secure full support within the party.
Trump’s call to end the filibuster came at a moment when certain senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson believed it was time for the government shutdown to come to an end. It’s unclear if lawmakers will follow Trump’s lead, rather than finding ways to negotiate with Democrats, AP reported.
What are filibusters in government?
Filibusters became more frequent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to serious debate about changing Senate rules to curtail the practice. At that point, the Senate had grown larger and busier, and the sheer amount of work to be done in each session meant that a filibustering senator could disrupt the progress of the body and gain concessions from senators who wanted to get their bills passed.
Type of filibuster
The type of filibuster most familiar to Americans is the marathon speech by a small group of senators, or even a single senator, such as the filibuster staged by fictional senator Jefferson Smith in Frank Capra’s 1939 film Mr Smith Goes to Washington.
There have been several notable filibusters in the history of the U.S. Senate. In 1917, for instance, Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette used the tactic to advocate for free speech during wartime.
The record for the longest individual filibuster speech belongs to New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes in April 2025, opposing the policies of the Donald J. Trump administration.
“People are stressing”
From coast to coast, fallout from the dysfunction of a shuttered federal government is hitting home: Alaskans are stockpiling moose, caribou and fish for winter, even before SNAP food aid is scheduled to shut off. Mainers are filling up their home-heating oil tanks, but waiting on the federal subsidies that are nowhere in sight.
Flights are being delayed with holiday travel around the corner. Workers are going without paychecks. And Americans are getting a first glimpse of the skyrocketing health care insurance costs that are at the centre of the stalemate on Capitol Hill.
“People are stressing,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as food options in her state grow scarce.
“We are well past time to have this behind us.”
Although behind-the-scenes discussions are taking place, especially among bipartisan senators, the shutdown is unlikely to be resolved before Saturday’s deadline. At that point, the severity of food insecurity in the US, where one in eight people relies on government assistance to eat, could become painfully clear if federal SNAP funding is exhausted.
Money for military, but not food aid
The White House has moved money around to ensure the military is paid, but refuses to tap funds for food aid. In fact, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” signed into law this summer, delivered the most substantial cut ever to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, projected to result in some 2.4 million people off the program.
At the same time, many Americans who purchase their own health insurance through the federal and state marketplaces, with open enrollment also beginning Saturday, are experiencing sticker shock as premium prices jump.
“We are holding food over the heads of poor people so that we can take away their health care,” said Rev. Ryan Stoess, during a prayer with religious leaders at the U.S. Capitol.
“God help us,” he said, “when the cruelty is the point.”
Deadlines shift to next week
The House has been closed down under Johnson for the past month. Senators are preparing to depart on Thursday for the long weekend. Trump returns late Thursday after a whirlwind tour of Asia.
That means the shutdown, in its 30th day, appears likely to stretch into another week if the filibuster remains. If the shutdown continues, it could become the longest in history, surpassing the 35-day lapse that ended in 2019, during Trump’s first term, over his demands to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
The next inflection point comes after Tuesday’s off-year elections — the New York City mayor’s race, as well as elections in Virginia and New Jersey that will determine those states’ governors. Many expect that once those winners and losers are declared, and the Democrats and Republicans assess their political standing with the voters, they might be ready to hunker down for a deal.
“I hope that it frees people up to move forward with opening the government,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
GOP cut SNAP in Trump’s big bill
The Republicans, who have majority control of Congress, find themselves in an unusual position, defending the furloughed federal workers and shuttered programs they have long sought to cut — including most recently with nearly $1 trillion in reductions in Trump’s big tax breaks and spending bill.
Medicaid, the health care program, and SNAP food aid, suffered sizable blows this summer, in part by imposing new work requirements. For SNAP recipients, many of whom were already required to work, the new requirements extend to older Americans up to age 64 and parents of older school-age children.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans now “have the nerve” to suggest it’s a political strategy to withhold food aid.
“We are trying to lift up the quality of life for the American people,” Jeffries of New York said about his party.
“The American people understand that there’s a Republican health care crisis,” he said. “The American people understand Republicans enacted the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history when they cut $186 billion from their one, big, ugly bill.”
Democrats have been holding out for negotiations with Trump and the Republicans to keep those subsidies in place. Republicans say they can address the issue later, once the government reopens.