After Republican election losses, Trump pushes lawmakers to end shutdown, filibuster
WASHINGTON— While the federal shutdown has become the longest in American history, President Trump has shown little interest in talks to reopen the government. But Republicans’ losses on election day could change that.
Trump told Republican senators at the White House on Wednesday that he believes the government shutdown was a “big factor” in the party’s poor performance against Democrats in key races.
“We must reopen the government soon, really immediately,” Trump said, adding that he would speak privately with senators to discuss what he wants to do next.
The president’s remarks are a departure from the response, which has been largely indifferent to reopening the government. With Congress deadlocked for more than a month, Trump’s attention has been mostly elsewhere.
He spent much of last week trying to broker trade deals in Asia. Before this, most of the focus was on: A ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas and building a $300 million White House ballroom.
So far, Trump’s main attempt to reopen the federal government has been to call on Republican leaders to end the filibuster, a longstanding Senate rule that requires 60 votes in the chamber to pass most legislation. Trump wants to repeal the so-called nuclear option, which allows Republicans in control of the chamber to pass legislation with a simple majority vote.
“If you don’t end the filibuster, you’re going to be in bad shape,” Trump told GOP senators, saying that with the rule in place, the party would be viewed as “do-nothing Republicans” and would be “killed” in next year’s midterm elections.
Trump’s move to end the shutdown comes as voters increasingly disapprove of Trump’s economic agenda. According to the latest polls. This trend was strengthened on Tuesday, as voters voted using economic concerns as the main motivation. AP’s survey showed this. Despite those indicators, Trump told the crowd at the American Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday that he thinks “we have the greatest economy right now.”
While Trump has not acknowledged the error of his economic agenda, he has begun to express concerns that the ongoing shutdown could hurt Republicans. These concerns pushed Republicans to eliminate the filibuster, a move that put party members in a difficult position.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota resisted the pressure, calling the filibuster an “important tool” in keeping the party in control of the chamber.
Thune said the 60-vote threshold allowed Republicans to block “a series of terrible Democratic policies” last year when they were in the minority. he said in an interview Monday on Fox News Radio’s “Guy Benson Show.”
“I shudder to think how much worse the situation would have been without the legislative filibuster,” he said. “The truth is, if we did their dirty work for them, which we would have done, we would own all the bullshit they would do whenever they got the chance.”
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said last week he was “absolutely no way to eliminate this.”
“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate. Power changes hands, but principles should not,” Curtis said. he said in a social media post..
As the government shutdown stretched into its 36th day Wednesday, Trump remained uninterested in negotiating with Democrats, who have refused to vote on legislation to reopen the government that does not include a deal on health care.
Budget negotiations are deadlocked as Democrats try to force Republicans to extend federal health tax credits that expire at the end of the year. If these credits expire, premium costs for millions of Americans are expected to skyrocket.
With negotiations stalled, Trump said in an interview published Sunday that he “won’t be bullied” over his demands for an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
On Wednesday, Democratic legislative leaders sent a letter to Trump demanding a bipartisan meeting to “end the GOP shutdown of the federal government and decisively address the Republican health crisis.”
“Democrats are ready to meet with you face to face anytime, anywhere,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He wrote a letter to Trump.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Democrats’ letter.
“The election results should send a much-needed thunderbolt to Donald Trump that he needs to meet with us to end this crisis.” Schumer told the Associated Press.
Trump’s comments Wednesday signaled he is more interested in a partisan approach to ending the shutdown.
“It’s time for Republicans to do what they need to do, and that’s end the filibuster,” Trump told GOP senators. “That’s the only way to do it.”
Trump argued that if Republicans fail to do so, Senate Democrats will do so the next time they are in the majority.
Democrats have not signaled any intention to end the filibuster in the future, but Trump has argued otherwise and argued that it is up to Republicans to “do it first.”
