Trump Calls for Republicans Who Oppose Ending Filibuster to ‘Be Exposed to the Public’

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

President Donald Trump is threatening to take action against his fellow Republicans if they don’t get on board to end the Senate filibuster and reopen the government.

Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday, “It is time for the Senate Filibuster to END. Those weak and ineffective Republicans Senators that stand in the way of this should be exposed to the public. The Democrats are CRAZY!”

Trump has been frustrated by Democrats’ refusal to end the partial government shutdown because they want assurances over reforms within the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

Ending the filibuster would eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to pass most legislation, and would allow the majority Republican party to pass bills with a “simple majority” of just 51 votes. It would be one way for Republicans to immediately end the month-long shutdown and easily pass other Trump-approved legislation like the SAVE America Act.

Trump has been complaining about the filibuster ever since his first term. On Thursday night, he called for Republicans to invoke the “Nuclear Option.”

“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 wrote.

A majority of Republicans have resisted calls to eliminate the filibuster because it would also allow the other side to get by with a simple majority if and when Republicans are once again in the minority. The filibuster encourages compromise, but as Trump has shown through his myriad executive orders, he prefers to get his way quickly and not through dealmaking.

Earlier this week, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) confirmed that Trump killed a plan formulated by he formulated with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)  to quickly restore funding to TSA agents. The plan would have required making a deal with the Democrats, which Trump rejected outright.

The partial shutdown shows no signs of abating anytime soon. A short-term funding bill approved by the House on Friday was deemed “dead on arrival” by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

In a statement, Schumer said Democrats “will not give a blank check to Trump’s lawless and deadly immigration militia without reforms.”

In addition, the House has recessed for its two-week Easter holiday, leaving discussions until at least the week of April 13.

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