Johnson warns against Trump's demand for Senate to go 'nuclear' to end shutdown

By Fox News · Fox News

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., warned against President Donald Trump's demand for the Senate to invoke the "nuclear option" to end the government shutdown. Johnson was asked during his Friday press conference about a late-night Truth Social post in which Trump demanded the Senate get rid of the filibuster and its 60-vote threshold to ram through the GOP's federal funding bill by a simple majority. "Look, I'll just say this in general, as I've said many times about the filibuster, it's not my call. I don't have a say in this. It's a Senate chamber issue," Johnson said. "But the filibuster has traditionally been viewed as a very important safeguard. If the shoe was on the other foot, I don't think our team would like it." Sixty votes are required in the Senate to overcome a filibuster and proceed with debate and a final vote on most pieces of legislation. Senate Democrats attempted to get rid of it when they last held the majority in order to pass reforms that they accused Republicans of blocking, but they were blocked by more moderate members of their own party. JOHNSON TURNS UP SHUTDOWN PRESSURE ON DEMOCRATS AS GOP UNEASE GROWS If Republicans successfully got rid of it now with a move colloquially known as the "nuclear option," Johnson warned Democrats would then use that standard in the future to pass progressive policies while sidelining the GOP. "The Democrats, look, they've said what they would do. They would pack the Supreme Court. They would make Puerto Rico and D.C. states. They would ban firearms. They would do all sorts of things that would be very harmful for the country, and the safeguard in the Senate has always been the filibuster," Johnson said. "But again, not my issue, not something I get to even weigh in on." The shutdown is in its 31st day after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP from advancing its short-term federal funding bill 13 times since Sept. 19. At the current tallies, five more Senate Democrats are needed to vote with Republicans to ov…