Senate Republicans offered mixed views on ending the filibuster after Mr. Trump urged them to do away with the long-held Senate rule at a breakfast meeting earlier in the day.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told CBS News the president “gives you a lot to think about.”
“But right now, I think it would let Chuck Schumer off the hook,” Cassidy added of ending the filibuster. “He’s being incredibly irresponsible keeping the government shut down.”
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters he was open to changes, suggesting a possible carveout of filibuster rules. He said the portion that “cries out for change is the fact we haven’t been able to do regular appropriations for a while.”
“And now, with the sort of Schumer shutdown, having a willful minority be able to shut down the government anytime they want to, obviously, we can’t tolerate that,” Cornyn said. “So I think that calls for some changes, and appropriations, including CRs, may be a good candidate for that.”
Sen. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, said in a video on X that “it’s time to reopen the government, get back to work, and do all of the things that the American people elected us to do.”
“Let’s do what it takes, whether that’s changing the filibuster rules in the Senate,” Banks said. “Whatever it takes.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia told reporters she still opposes doing away with the filibuster. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said “I’m in the same spot I’ve always been on the filibuster — that should not change.” And Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana likewise said his position hasn’t changed.
“The role of the senator is not just to advance good ideas. The role of the senator is to kill bad ideas,” Kennedy said. “And when you’re in the minority, we’re not now, but we could be someday, it’s important to have a filibuster. We killed a lot of President Biden’s goofy ideas through the filibuster, and someday the shoe will be on the other foot.”
