President Donald Trump reignited his demands early Sunday morning for Republican senators to terminate the filibuster, warning GOP lawmakers that they would become “the stupid party” should they continue to defy him.
“Republicans Should Terminate the Filibuster (THE DEMS WILL DO IT THE FIRST CHANCE THEY GET!), End the Shutdown, Pass lots of Great ‘Things,’ and Win the Midterms,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “SO EASY TO DO - Be the Smart Party, Not the Stupid Party!”
Trump has ramped up calls in recent weeks for GOP senators to eliminate the filibuster, a Senate rule that allows a member to block a bill that receives less than 60 votes. His calls come amid the ongoing government shutdown, which reached its 40th day on Sunday and has become the single-longest shutdown in U.S. history.
The shutdown was sparked by Democrats’ refusal to back any spending bills that didn’t include an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire this year. If allowed to expire, an estimated 4 million Americans would lose health insurance, and premiums for millions of Obamacare enrollees are projected to increase by 114%.
With there being 53 Republicans in the 100-member Senate, the party’s majority is too small to overcome the filibuster and adopt a spending bill to re-open the government.
Were the filibuster to be eliminated, however, Republicans’ simple majority would be enough to force through a spending bill without an extension to Obamacare subsidies, as well as a plethora of other agenda items from Trump, including legislation to ban “transgender for everybody,” as Trump has stated, and additional tax cuts, too.