Trump’s Call to End the Filibuster to End the Shutdown
He's making a major admission.
I had a couple of responses to this story from a couple of days ago (via CNN): Trump calls for end of Senate filibuster to break funding stalemate.
President Donald Trump on Thursday urged congressional Republicans to unilaterally end the government shutdown by eliminating the Senate filibuster — urging them to take an unprecedented step that GOP leaders have firmly opposed until now.
“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 in a Truth Social post.
The first is that it will never not be ridiculous that he tries to govern and communicate via social media.
The second is that this is a very rare case wherein I agree with Trump, although not for the same reasons. I think, and have argued before (I think in some comments, but perhaps elsewhere), that the Democrats should have been insisting from day one of the shutdown that the GOP has to go nuclear. It would clarify responsibility for the policy outcomes (laying them at the feet of the Republicans, as the majority party) and increase, to some degree at least, democratic feedback in the system. As it stands, if the Democrats vote to reopen, it is possible for voters to see them as mutually responsible for whatever policies flow from the open government. That muddies the waters of who to blame, which is an ongoing problem in our politics.
The third is that Trump is admitting, deep down, who has the real power, and therefore the responsibility, over the shutdown and the consequences. While it is true that Democrats are currently holding up the CR by not giving the Republicans the handful of votes they need to pass the Senate under the current rules, the reality is that the Republicans have had the power to reopen the government the entire time, but are simply choosing not to use it.
Nonetheless, many Republicans oppose this course of action. Via NBC News: Trump’s push to abolish the Senate filibuster hits immediate Republican resistance.
“Leader Thune’s position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged,” Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse said Friday.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said: “Senator Barrasso’s support of the filibuster is unchanged.”
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, posted on X on Friday that he was a “firm no” on getting rid of the filibuster.
“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate,” Curtis said, referring to a headline about Trump’s comments. “Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it.”
I hate to tell Senator Curtis, but that tired cliche is utterly wrong.
What compromise is the current filibuster producing, pray do tell? What have the Republicans offered the Democrats to get their votes? Last I saw, it was bupkis. This filibuster is by no means forcing anyone to find common ground. It is a minority veto that rarely induces any kind of compromise or negotiation.
But let me stress again: the ultimate power over whether the government opens or not is in the hands of the Republicans. It is as if the door has two locks, and the Democrats are refusing to insert their key and so the Republicans are mad at the Democrats for not helping them open the door, while all the while they have their own second key in a safe deposit box in a bank across town, but don’t want to get in the car and go get it. Yes, the Democrats could put their key in the door, but with a little effort, the Republicans could open in without the Democrats’ key.
Yes, it would be easier for the Republicans if the Democrats used their key, but it is not the only way to open the door.
Meanwhile, the Democrats only have the one key and cannot do anything by themselves.
So, who has the power?
And if the Republicans want the easier option, then offer the Democrats something to induce them to use their key, as Senator Curtis seems to think all of this works.
It makes all the mewling about the “Democrat shutdown” at various podiums across DC to be more than a bit disingenuous (to put it mildly).
Just because the Republicans don’t want to go that route doesn’t mean that route does not exist.
This is also a good example of how the complexity of American government obscures which politicians are doing what, making it harder for voters to know where to assign responsibility. And the press goes along because it is easier to just say “Democrats are refusing to vote to open the government” than to explain the cloture rule and the nuclear option (assuming that the reporters themselves even understand it).
It’s odd indeed El Taco is using social media. What he should do is gather all the senate GQP leaders in a White House or Mar a Lardo dank, dim lit basement and talk the matter over, with five or seven masked ICE agents standing idly by checking their guns and sharpening some nasty looking knives.
I agree, and this falls into the bucket of poor Democratic messaging. As it stands now, most people are confused as to who has control of the shutdown. Dem messaging should include a line about the GOP having to go nuclear every time anyone talks to a reporter. This fully clarifies that the GOP have control.
The 800-pound gorilla in the room is Speaker Johnson. If the Senate Republicans change the continuing resolution to get the Democrats on board, it has to go back to the House for approval. Adding the ACA premium subsidies back in? The House will have to approve. Extending the spending authority farther than the Nov 21 date currently in the resolution? The House will have to approve.
Agree. Dems should be telling the President “I agree with your recommendation to eliminate the filibuster to end this, you need to get your Senate Republicans in agreement as well, because right now they oppose your idea vehemently, in fact I overheard someone saying that some have said your idea is stupid….” you know, play to his weaknesses, like China, Russia, Argentina etc… have been doing. The filibuster has run its course. If you win a government majority you should be free to govern. Now let’s see all those GOP ideas and legislation…spolier alert, there are none. Just tax cuts, other cuts and hot air on anything else that actually means working towards solving problems.
Does the minority party in the senate also vote on rule changes?
@HelloWorld:
“Poor Dem messaging” is the constant critique, but the comparative resources that can be directed at messaging are grossly lopsided in favor of Repubs. By a lot. They have the money, they have the mercenary strategists, they have the media outlets — and now they have the power to bend major media outlets to their will.
So “poor” Dem messaging as in “impoverished” might be a more apt description.
This is why I would not bet money that the Senate votes to eliminate the filibuster. But, if Senate republicans do become inclined to do so, there is some wiggle room among the Republican ranks who profess to be opposed in principle to eliminating the filibuster. For example, according to the linked NBC News article, Senator MarkWayne said,
So, perhaps there’s a chance that Senate republicans will technically keep the filibuster but create yet another exception to its supermajority vote requirement in order to pass a spending bill that suits them.
@Rob1: I don’t think so. What they don’t have is cohesion on messaging, and leadership that sets strict rules on process for how you get that message out. Have you never noticed that when the GOP is messaging you will hear any rep from any state say the same tag line no mater what media forum they are using?
Trump may want the “responsibility over the shutdown and the consequences, ” but the Republicans in Congress know better.
As demonstrated by his completely untethered interview on 60 Minutes yesterday, Trump is living full-time in his fact-free world and his sycophantic handlers have no intention of bursting that bubble. Check out Mehdi Hasan’s fact-check – it’s gobsmackingly delusional. “Grocery prices are lower than ever.” “I’m the most popular president ever.” OMG!
But, the Congressional GOPers know that if they give up their means to blame the Democrats for the poor results of Trumpian governance, they won’t be insulated from reality in the way Trump inexplicably is. They can avoid town halls in their district and self-select their questioners at press conferences for only so long – eventually they will have to face their constituents. And their constituents are not happy.
@Kathy: On my understanding, Senate rules are made by a committee on which Republicans currently have the majority. Committees pass resolutions by simple majority vote.
If push comes to shove, the Senate presiding officer can simply declare that the 60-vote rule doesn’t apply to the CR, with Republicans voting against a Democratic motion of dissent. That’s more or less how Harry Reid got rid of the filibuster for judicial appointments (except Supreme Court justices).
Not only has the filibuster been the biggest contributor to Congressional paralysis this century, it encourages reckless law-making by the House when the chambers are controlled by different parties. The House majority is free to pander to extreme wings of its party by passing bills knowing full well they’ll never get through the Senate (more than 60 votes to repeal the ACA from 2013-2016 are an example). The filibuster’s defenders need to explain why the United States Senate, alone among other legislatures in other nations and American states, would cause governmental disaster if it passed bills by simple majorities.
@HelloWorld: Yeah and it probably helps that a handful of billionaires own all that media and are currently actively trying to suck up to Trump.
Social media? lol same thing but even more concentrated in ownership…