Trump Urges Nuclear Option; GOP Leaders Reject

President Trump returned from abroad and used Truth Social to urge Senate Republicans to “initiate the ‘nuclear option’” and eliminate the 60‑vote filibuster so the GOP could pass funding and end the government shutdown, now in its 31st day. The Senate has failed 13 times to pass House-backed funding, and with a 53‑47 GOP majority abandoning the filibuster would allow passage by simple majority. The shutdown has threatened SNAP benefits for more than 40 million people. Top Senate and House Republicans — including Majority Leader John Thune, Sen. John Barrasso, former leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Mike Johnson — rejected changing the rule, saying the filibuster protects minority rights and Senate norms. Conservative strategists such as Dick Morris warned scrapping the filibuster would permanently weaken GOP leverage and invite retaliation, while a small number of moderate Democrats have broken with their caucus to reopen the government but most insist on extending Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies. The clash has deepened tensions within the GOP over whether short-term relief justifies a lasting alteration of Senate rules.