OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:33 AM – Friday, October 31, 2025
President Donald Trump urged Republicans in the Senate to initiate the “nuclear option” and end the filibuster as the government shutdown reaches a full month.
On Thursday night, Trump issued a 500-word Truth Social post, addressing the state of the government upon his return from his Asia tour.
The president touted his successes on the trip, while noting, “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? The fact is, in flying back, I thought a great deal about that question, WHY?”
“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,” said the president, accusing the Democrats of “Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).”
Trump explained that the Democrats have kept the government closed as a bargaining chip to demand “trillions of dollars to be taken from our healthcare system and given to others who are not deserving.”
“This will hurt American citizens, and Republicans will not let it happen,” Trump asserted. “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 noted that Democrats during the Biden administration tried to end the filibuster to protect abortion access, though the party did not have unanimous support, so the effort was unsuccessful.
The Senate filibuster rule often requires legislation to receive 60 votes to pass through the chamber, giving the minority party more power by limiting the majority’s.
Republicans have been pushing for a bill that would keep the government funded through late November. Since the beginning of October, Democrats have voted against the bill 13 times, arguing that the legislation does not allocate enough of the budget toward Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the calendar year.
The Republicans hold a thin majority of 53 seats in the chamber. All supported the bill in the most recent vote except for Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Angus King (I-Maine) both sided with Republicans in support of the bill, as well. The bill garnered only 54 votes, six short of the 60-vote threshold.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he opposes weakening the filibuster, however.
Due to the shutdown, many government employees have been furloughed or worked without pay in October. Air traffic controllers have been short-staffed, leading to flights being grounded and delayed at some airports. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will also face a lapse on Saturday, November 1st.
The current shutdown — what Republicans are calling the “Schumer Shutdown” after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — has become the second-longest, after a previous shutdown in 2019 during Trump’s first term in office.
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