MAGA Republicans Threaten Going ‘Nuclear’ To End Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON – Some Republicans say the U.S. Senate may need to take drastic measures and go “nuclear” by changing filibuster rules to pass a funding bill if the government shutdown continues for a while longer and federal workers and military troops miss consecutive paychecks.
“If it takes too long, that would probably be an option to consider,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), a prominent MAGA figure, told HuffPost. “Probably 80% of Americans can’t give up two paychecks in a row. I think at this point we need to look at the situation and say: If Democrats are still playing political games, we need to do the right thing and reopen the government and pay our workers.”
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“I think most Americans would say, ‘Why don’t you reopen the government? You have the majority,'” he added. “But unfortunately the rules are 60. This is completely arbitrary.”
The support of 60 senators is needed to overcome the filibuster in the Senate and advance a bill for a final vote. Resorting to the so-called nuclear option means changing this rule by simple majority vote.
On the other side of the Capitol, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also argued that it was time to end the long-standing Senate rule.
“Let’s be realistic about the concern that using the nuclear option would damage partisan relations, that ship sailed a long time ago,” Greene wrote in a social media post this week. “There are no partisan affiliations. Instead, Republicans need to learn how to wield power and govern.”
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Republicans have a majority of votes supporting the House-passed GOP bill reopening the government, which Democrats have blocked over a lack of health protections. At least for now, they do not have the majority of votes needed to eliminate the legislative filibuster.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) and members of his leadership team have repeatedly rejected the idea. Thune said this week that he had not received pressure from the Trump administration on this issue.
“As you know, there’s always a lot of eddy from social media etc., but no, I haven’t had that conversation.” Thune told reporters: When asked if the White House defended the move.
But frustration is growing at the Thune conference after nearly two weeks of failed votes and no progress on reaching an agreement with Democrats on reopening the government. The Senate left town Thursday and won’t return until Tuesday next week, meaning members of the military will miss their Oct. 15 paycheck. Federal workers also started missing paychecks this Friday.
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Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a leading Trump ally, told HuffPost: “If they continue to go this route and we have no choice, they can force it.” “I’m not in favor of that. I don’t want to do it unless they really push us.”
“Every option needs to be on the table,” added Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who has defended the filibuster in the past, said Democrats were “acting inappropriately” by requesting government funds. He also left open the possibility of the GOP eviscerating the filibuster.
“I hope it doesn’t happen that way, but you never know what’s going to happen here,” Scott said.
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But Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said without the filibuster to block Democratic legislation, his party will one day regret being in the minority.
“He protects the rights of the rogue minority,” Johnson said. “I think that’s a good thing. Historically, I think the filibuster prevented us from becoming a socialist nation much faster than we otherwise would have.”
Republicans have already gone nuclear twice this year by unilaterally changing the Senate’s rules to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump’s executive nominees in large batches. They also quickly broke the Senate’s rules to help pass multitrillion-dollar tax cuts and weaken California’s environmental regulations.
Some Democrats believe it’s only a matter of time before the filibuster disappears.
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You. “As this situation becomes more and more in their favor, they will continue to get rid of the filibuster,” said Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). in questionIn an interview with Punchbowl News on Thursday. “They’ve already started. It’s already been done. It’s going to happen.”
Many on the left have also called for eliminating the filibuster, and seeing Trump win consecutive wins in Congress this year will increase pressure on Democrats to go nuclear next time they’re in power — provided they have at least 51 votes supporting it. When Democrats held a narrow 50-seat Senate majority under former President Joe Biden, they were blocked by then-Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who opposed gutting the filibuster.
“The problem here is that we don’t have Sinema and Manchin to be the voice of reason,” Moreno said Thursday. “They were replaced by crazy people. I don’t think there have ever been two senators who are more missed in the Senate right now than Sinema and Manchin.”
