Trump: Democrats likelier to win midterms, White House if GOP doesn’t end filibuster
President Trump on Tuesday ramped up his calls for Senate Republicans to do away with the filibuster, warning that failing to do so would increase the chances of Democrats taking control of Congress and the White House in future elections.
“The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED. Elections, including the Midterms, will be rightfully brutal,” he continued. “If we do terminate the Filibuster, we will get EVERYTHING approved, like no Congress in History.”
The president also argued that Republicans could pass legislation around election laws, including outlawing transgender women from competing in women’s sports and protecting gun laws.
He also reiterated his argument that Democrats would do away with the filibuster if they retake the Senate majority and pass statehood for Puerto Rico and the Washington, D.C. and expand the Supreme Court. Trump noted Democrats previously attempted to alter the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation but fell two votes short.
The president last week revived his longstanding wish for Republicans to gut the filibuster, which requires legislation in the Senate to garner 60 votes. Getting rid of it would require a simple majority to pass legislation.
But it does not appear there is enough support among Republicans to do away with the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said his opposition to the idea was unchanged by Trump’s comments, and other Republicans have argued the filibuster is an important bulwark that protects the rights of the minority party.
“To do away with the filibuster as a whole, I don’t think that’s the right move right now,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said Monday on CNN.