Trump Says Ending the Filibuster Would Be "Catastrophic" for Republicans

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:24 pm

Former President Donald Trump said ending the filibuster would be “catastrophic” for the GOP, voicing his support as Democrats continue to face calls to scrap it entirely.

“Look, he’s hanging by a thread right now with respect to the filibuster,” Trump said of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) during an interview on the podcast “The Truth with Lisa Boothe.” “And if they get the filler, he’s hanging on [Democratic Senator] Joe Manchin, who always goes with the Democrats. Joe talks, but he ends up going with the Democrats. Now there’s another great senator from the state of Arizona. He’s hanging by a thread and if they get rid of the filibuster, if they knock it out, it will be catastrophic for the Republican Party.”

“But if you look at what happened in the election, Mitch McConnell should’ve fought. You know, he did nothing. He should’ve fought. They should’ve fought. That could never have, that could never have happened to a Democrat,” Trump continued. “What happened to us with the presidential election could never have happened to the Democrats. You would have had a revolution if the tables were turned, you would have literally had a revolution. And guys like Mitch McConnell, they don’t fight. And now he’s hanging by a thread. He’s hanging by a thread.”

McConnell has sought to protect the filibuster, insisting that eliminating it would amount to a power grab on the part of the Democrats. Democrats, meanwhile, are facing calls from their constituents to eliminate it so they can implement their agenda without necessarily requiring Republican support.

In making his threat, McConnell, the former Senate Majority Leader, could find ways to complicate President Joe Biden‘s ability to deliver on his legislative agenda. Once Biden took office, he wanted assurances that there would be no use of the so-called “nuclear option,” which would allow Senate rules to be changed with a simple majority vote.

Last week, when asked if McConnell could “grind things to a halt” in an evenly divided chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was firm: “I’m not even going to give this blustery threat credence. We’re going to move forward. Period.”