On Thursday, President Trump urged Republicans to trigger the so-called 'nuclear option,' pushing them to rewrite Senate rules so a bill to end the 30-day government shutdown could pass with just a simple majority.
“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!” the president wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post.
Trump explained that during his whirlwind Asia trip “the one question that kept coming up, however, was how did the Democrats SHUT DOWN the United States of America, and why did the powerful Republicans allow them to do it?”
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune shared a firm handshake during a Rose Garden lunch at the White House on October 21, 2025. ZUMAPRESS.com
The president said the question stayed on his mind during the long flight home from South Korea.
“The fact is, in flying back, I thought a great deal about that question, WHY?” Trump wrote.
“Majority Leader John Thune, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, are doing a GREAT job, but the Democrats are Crazed Lunatics that have lost all sense of WISDOM and REALITY,” he argued. “It is a sick form of the now ‘legendary’ Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) that only comes from losing too much.”
Trump fired back, saying Democrats’ push to reopen the government "will hurt American citizens, and Republicans will not let it happen."
The Senate’s 60-vote requirement has become a roadblock for Republicans, stopping them from pushing through a short-term funding measure to restore the government to pre-shutdown levels.
Sen. John Thune and Senate Republican leaders spoke to reporters outside the White House on October 21, 2025. ZUMAPRESS.com
Every Senate Democrat except three has rejected the Trump-backed proposal more than a dozen times since federal funding lapsed on October 1.
Republicans are five votes short of moving the bill forward.
“Just a short while ago, the Democrats, while in power, fought for three years to do this, but were unable to pull it off because of Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona,” Trump wrote, referring to a previous effort to undo the legislative filibuster. “Never have the Democrats fought so hard to do something because they knew the tremendous strength that terminating the Filibuster would give them.”
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One during his return flight to the United States on October 30, 2025. Getty Images
The president warned that if Senate Democrats could pass legislation with a simple majority, they would move to “substantially expand (PACK!) the U.S. Supreme Court, make Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico states (automatically adding four Senate seats, numerous House seats, and at least eight Electoral Votes), and pursue many other highly destructive actions.”
“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 asserted.
Beyond ending the shutdown, Trump highlighted “all of the other things we would get” without the legislative filibuster, “such as the best judges, the best U.S. attorneys, the best of everything.”
“[T]his was a concept from years ago of then President Barack Hussein Obama and former Majority Leader Harry Reid in order to take advantage of the Republicans. Now I want to do it in order to take advantage of the Democrats….” he continued
Trump pushed back, saying Democrats’ call to reopen the government "will hurt American citizens, and Republicans will not let it happen." Truth Social / @realDonaldTrump/
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson addressed reporters alongside House Republican leaders at the Capitol on October 30, 2025. REUTERS
On Truth Social, Trump followed up with another post, writing: “BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE GONE STONE COLD ‘CRAZY,’ THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump handed out treats during a Halloween event at the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 2025. REUTERS
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pledged to preserve the filibuster in January, shortly after Republicans regained control of the Senate.
He brushed off the idea of invoking the “nuclear option” to end the shutdown earlier this month and said he hadn’t spoken about it with the White House.
