Trump's push to 'knock out' filibuster gains new GOP traction as funding deadline nears

By Fox News · Fox News

Gutting the filibuster was once a taboo notion among Senate Republicans, but the idea is gaining traction thanks to President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to throw out the longstanding procedure. The Senate filibuster is the 60-vote threshold that applies to most bills in the upper chamber, and given the nature of the thin majorities that either party has commanded in recent years, that means legislation typically has to be bipartisan to advance. It proved a key barrier to reopening the government and advancing several other Republican priorities in recent weeks, like the GOP’s Obamacare fix that was torpedoed by Senate Democrats . TWO KEY SENATE REPUBLICANS JOIN PUSH TO OVERTURN TRUMP'S FEDERAL UNION ORDER For years, it’s been viewed as a tool of the minority party in the Senate meant to prevent majorities from ramming through partisan legislation that both Republicans and Democrats have taken advantage of. But near-monthly prodding from Trump and recent frustration with the 43-day government shutdown has some Republicans rethinking their position on the filibuster. "It's something I'm giving serious consideration to now," Sen. Roger Marshall , R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. Marshall previously told Fox News Digital, "Never, never, ever, never, none," when asked if he would consider changing the rules after Trump called on Republicans to nuke the filibuster in October. Just a few months later, Marshall is reconsidering his position. KENNEDY URGES GOP TO RESTART SPENDING BATTLE AMID SOARING COST OF LIVING, WARNS AGAINST WASTING MAJORITY "I think between the last government shutdown and the threat of this one, it makes me pause," he said. "It seems like the appropriations process is being slowed down. It feels like, with healthcare, that the Democrats, really the Democratic Party, doesn't want to get anything done. So eliminating the filibuster ends all that." He echoed Trump, who on Monday told reporters that he wanted Senate Republicans to "knock out" the filibus…