Donald Trump calls on Republicans to play ‘their ‘TRUMP CARD.’ What he’s demanding could reshape how Congress works

President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster rule so they can end the government shutdown that has lasted more than 30 days. If they do this, Republicans could pass spending bills with only 50 votes instead of needing 60 votes like they do now. This change would completely transform the way the Senate works.

Trump made his demand on Thursday night through his Truth Social account after coming back from visiting countries in Asia. He said Democrats are trying to take money from healthcare programs and give it to people who entered the country without permission. Trump said this would be bad for American citizens and that Republicans need to stop it.

In his message, Trump told 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!” He believes doing this would instantly stop the shutdown that he says is destroying the country, as per The Hill. Trump also warned that Democrats would eliminate the filibuster themselves once they get back in power, so Republicans should do it first.

Here’s what getting rid of the filibuster would actually do

Right now, the Senate filibuster means you need 60 votes out of 100 senators to pass most laws. Republicans have 53 seats, which means they need at least seven Democrats to vote with them to get anything done. Democrats have been voting against Republican spending plans because they want any new law to also extend tax credits that help people pay for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Those tax credits will run out at the end of this year.

Getting rid of the filibuster through something called the nuclear option would let Senate Republicans pass laws with just 51 votes. They could reopen the government without getting any help from Democrats. But there’s a catch. Once they change this rule, future Senate majorities from either party could use it to push through whatever laws they want without working together.

The government shutdown started on October 1 when Congress could not agree on a spending bill before the new budget year began. Because of this shutdown, about 670,000 federal workers have been sent home without pay, and another 730,000 are still working but not getting their paychecks. Things could get worse on November 1 when money for food stamps runs out, which would affect around 42 million Americans who depend on that help.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said many times that he does not want to end the filibuster. When he started his job as majority leader back in January, Thune said keeping the filibuster was one of his main goals because it protects how the Senate is supposed to work. 

Senate Republicans even asked Vice President JD Vance earlier this week to convince Trump to stop talking about the filibuster. Vance apparently told them that Republicans probably do not have enough votes to get rid of it anyway.

This shutdown is already the second longest in American history. If it goes past 34 days, it will break the record. The longest shutdown before this one happened during Trump’s first time as president from 2018 to 2019. Trump made his latest push to end the filibuster right after his return from meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, where he said they agreed on several important topics.