Speaker Mike Johnson, left, and President Donald Trump, right, are both pushing Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
If Republicans successfully got rid of it now with a move colloquially known as the "nuclear option," Johnson warned Democrats would then use that standard in the future to pass progressive policies while sidelining the GOP.
"The Democrats, look, they've said what they would do. They would pack the Supreme Court. They would make Puerto Rico and D.C. states. They would ban firearms. They would do all sorts of things that would be very harmful for the country, and the safeguard in the Senate has always been the filibuster," Johnson said. "But again, not my issue, not something I get to even weigh in on."
The shutdown is in its 31st day after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP from advancing its short-term federal funding bill 13 times since Sept. 19.
At the current tallies, five more Senate Democrats are needed to vote with Republicans to overcome the filibuster.
TRUMP URGES GOP TO ‘END THE SHUTDOWN’ BY GOING NUCLEAR ON SENATE FILIBUSTER
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, June 3, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
"What you're seeing is an expression of the president's anger at the situation. He is as angry as I am, and the American people are, about this madness," Johnson said. "He just desperately wants the government to be reopened so that all these resources can flow to the people who need it so much."
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While the Senate GOP went nuclear once already this year to approve Trump's nominees, the likelihood that they do it again, especially to gut the filibuster, is low.
"[Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s] position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged," Thune’s spokesperson Ryan Wrasse said in a statement.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/johnson-warns-against-trumps-demand-senate-go-nuclear-end-shutdown