President Donald Trump has called on Republicans in the US Senate to scrap the filibuster rule in a bid to end the ongoing government shutdown, now entering its 30th day.
The filibuster is a long-standing senate rule that requires 60 of the 100 members to approve most legislation. With a 53-47 majority, removing the rule would allow Republicans to pass a funding bill without Democratic support.
“It is now time for the 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 wrote on social media.
The shutdown, which began on 1 October, has left millions of Americans facing the loss of essential services.
If it continues into the weekend, more than 40 million people could lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which provides food aid to low-income households.
Thousands of federal workers have already missed pay cheques, and there are growing fears of increased flight delays as air traffic controllers and airport staff work without pay.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has previously rejected calls to change the filibuster rule to end the shutdown.
Lawmakers from both parties have long expressed concerns that scrapping it would erode a key safeguard for the minority party.
“Well, now WE are in power, and if we did what we should be doing, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying ‘SHUT DOWN,’” Trump wrote in a social media post late on Thursday evening.
By Friday, most senators had left Washington for the weekend, with little sign of progress towards reopening the government.
It remains unclear whether there is enough support within the Senate to invoke what is known as the “nuclear option” and eliminate the filibuster.
In recent years, both parties have chipped away at filibuster’s reach.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, some Democrats suggested ending the filibuster to enshrine abortion access and protect voting rights, but it did not get sufficient support within the party.
The senate has already made exceptions so that some nominees, including judicial appointments, only need a simple majority vote for confirmation. But most legislation remains subject to the 60-vote threshold.
Many Republicans fear that ending the filibuster could backfire if Democrats regain control of Congress.
The shutdown went into effect on 1 October after Democrats refused to support a stopgap measure to keep the government open until mid-November, unless Republicans agreed to extend healthcare subsidies for low-income Americans.
Republicans have resisted, accusing Democrats of holding the government hostage over unrelated policy priorities.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: BBC
