Desperate to get billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for a border wall he promised would be funded entirely by Mexico before the new House Democratic majority is sworn in next month, Donald Trump demanded on Friday morning that Republicans eliminate a centuries-old Senate rule protecting minority rights and unilaterally ban the filibuster. Hours later, two retiring Republican Senators made it clear that is not going to happen.
Senate Republicans currently hold 51 seats. While that is a narrow majority, most legislation effectively requires 60 votes, meaning any Republican-backed legislation requires the support of at least 9 Democratic Senators. But Democrats are refusing to fold to Trump’s scheme of holding government funding hostage until he gets his wall, so the president demanded the Republican majority change the Senate rules to lower that threshold permanently to 51 votes — an idea he has repeatedly floated before when he didn’t get his way on legislation. This strategy is known in Washington as the “nuclear option” because of the massive fallout such a move would cause.
Mitch, use the Nuclear Option and get it done! Our Country is counting on you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
Thank you @SteveDaines for being willing to go with the so-called nuclear option in order to win on DESPERATELY NEEDED Border Security! Have my total support.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
But just hours after Trump’s last-ditch effort to get his wall and avoid his promised shutdown, two retiring Senate Republicans nixed that idea. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who has frequently criticized Trump, and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who suggested Trump could be one of the greatest presidents ever, both tweeted their steadfast refusal to go along with such a scheme.
The Senate filibuster is about the only mechanism left in Washington that brings the parties together. Deploying the nuclear option would blow that up. I will not vote to do it. https://t.co/XDL19fuSMP
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) December 21, 2018
HATCH—>
“I’ve long said that eliminating the legislative filibuster would be a mistake. It’s what’s prevented our country for decades from sliding toward liberalism. It’s inconvenient sometimes, but requiring compromise is in the interest of both parties in the long term.”
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) December 21, 2018
In a series of follow-up tweets, Hatch added that “without the filibuster this country would’ve been gone a long time ago,” and called the rule “the only way to protect the minority,” noting that Senate Republicans have often been in the minority.
Without these two Senators, the Senate GOP would not even have a majority to make that happen. With retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) dubious about the bill itself, the nuclear option is simply not an option.
Corker talking to Democratic leaders. He said he might vote against even advancing this bill
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) December 21, 2018
Washington Post reporter Paul Kane tweeted on Thursday morning that the votes to kill the filibuster “aren’t there.”
To be clear, going “nuclear” in Senate isn’t something McConnell could do alone. He’d need at least 50 of 51 GOP Senators.
The votes aren’t there.— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) December 21, 2018
Senate Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), the man responsible for corralling votes within the Republican caucus, retweeted Kane’s tweet.
This story has been updated to include the latest on Sen. Bob Corker.