A growing number of GOP senators are signaling openness to abolishing the filibuster, following the 43-day Schumer Shutdown, as President Trump has called to tear down the procedural roadblocks that have slowed legislation he has sought to pass. The move would clear the path for Republicans to pass legislation with a simple majority, enabling the Trump administration to move forward more efficiently.
Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, who previously told Fox News Digital "Never, never, ever, never, none," when asked about changing the Senate filibuster rules, said Wednesday, "It's something I'm giving serious consideration to now."
On Monday, he told reporters, "You wouldn’t have January 30th looming, because you have the 30th of January looming, you know that, right? And if we knocked out the filibuster, it would be just a simple approval," he said. "But you have some Republicans — they’re unable to explain why, you know if you ask them why they’re unable to explain, they cannot win the debate, but they should knock out the filibuster."
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said his stance has shifted, insisting that if Republicans fear Democrats will scrap the rule, they should move to eliminate it themselves.
"If we believe that they’re going to do it, then why don’t we just go ahead and get it done," he said.
However, Senate majority leader John Thune of South Dakota has continued to signal unwillingness to support the move. Several GOP Senators have like Sen. John Kennedy complained that Republicans aren't even using the full toolbox available to them in the Senate, and should exhaust their moves before they move to touch a rule that has been used by both parties to prevent partisan legislation from being rammed through the higher chamber.
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"Yes, you can't do everything, but you can do a lot, and that's what I would be concentrating my energies on," Kennedy said. "And I've said respectfully to the president that I don't think the United States Senate is going to give up the filibuster or the blue slip. He obviously disagrees, and I respect that reasonable people disagree sometimes, but I'm a pragmatist. I deal with the world as it is, not as I want it to be."
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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