President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Asia, Oct. 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
Three members of the Democratic caucus have broken from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their colleagues to reopen the government, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs five more to hit the magic number.
Trump, in a late-night Truth Social post, said that on his return trip from Asia, he ruminated heavily over why the government had shut down despite Republicans being in control. His solution was for Senate 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 said.
Senate Republicans have already gone nuclear this year to unilaterally change the rules to blast through Schumer’s and Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominees. But for many Senate Republicans, including Thune and his leadership team, nuking the filibuster is a proverbial third rail.
TRUMP URGES GOP TO ‘END THE SHUTDOWN’ BY GOING NUCLEAR ON SENATE FILIBUSTER
Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., aren't ready to back down from their shutdown position yet as the fight nears its fourth week. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The filibuster has come under fire in the last decade from Senate Democrats, a point that Trump noted in his lengthy post.
The last time the filibuster was put to the test was when Democrats controlled the Senate in 2022. Schumer, who was majority leader at the time, tried to change the rules for a "talking filibuster" in order to pass voting rights legislation.
But the effort was thwarted when then-Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., joined Republicans to block the change. Both have since retired from the Senate and become independents.
Still, the stalemate in the Senate has shown no signs of shattering as the shutdown heads into November, though bipartisan talks among rank-and-file members have been on the rise as federal food benefits career toward a weekend funding cliff.
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Across the building, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also warned against turning to the nuclear option for the filibuster, even as a handful of House Republicans have demanded that the safeguard be erased.
"Look, I'll just say this in general, as I've said many times about the filibuster, it's not my call. I don't have a say in this. It's a Senate chamber issue," Johnson said. "But the filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don't think our team would like it."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-nuclear-demand-not-landing-senate-republicans-amid-shutdown