From Filibuster to Funding – Will Congress Come Around?

President Donald Trump has called for an end to the filibuster for weeks now to drive progress on the SAVE America Act, but few Senate Republicans seemed on board. That may be changing, though. As the legislative logjam lingers – and in light of outside events like Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting – more GOP lawmakers are joining the president in his call to action. Is Congress coming around to the idea of ending the longstanding tradition, or will this rule remain to be scrapped by Democrats instead?

Filibuster Fight Heats Up

President Trump renewed his calls to scrap the filibuster on Saturday, April 25, in a Truth Social post. Anything to get the SAVE America Act clear of the Senate and onto his desk, it would seem. Trump argued that not passing this bill – which made it out of the House in February – would lead to “the worst results for a political party in the HISTORY of the United States Senate. An Unrecoverable Death Wish!!! Likewise, the FILIBUSTER – TERMINATE IT NOW!!!”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has routinely dismissed the notion – and, of course, Democrats are content not scrapping the rule until it would be a help to their legislative agenda rather than a harm. But some Republicans are and have been a bit more keen on the idea of doing away with – or, at least, changing – the filibuster.

Some, like John Cornyn of Texas, have argued the SAVE America Act could be passed and signed into law if the GOP would just force Democrats to maintain a talking filibuster – that is, as soon as they give up holding the floor with actual speeches, the filibuster ends, and the final, simple-majority vote begins. Others, like Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, suggest amending the budget reconciliation bill aimed at funding ICE and CBP to include as much of the core of SAVE America as possible. Kennedy’s amendment was voted down 48-50.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) argues the FISA Section 702 renewal could rescue the SAVE Act. “I think FISA dies unless SAVE America is attached. Period,” Luna told The Hill in an interview earlier in the month.

But the president isn’t the only one getting tired enough of the holdup to give up on the filibuster entirely. Also on Saturday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) shifted slightly from his pro-talking filibuster stance and is now ready to nuke it entirely. “If they want to filibuster the SAVE America Act, make them speak, and if we’re not willing to make them speak and do the hard work then it is time to nuke the filibuster,” Lee declared.

Swamp Shooting and the Funding Fiasco

Of course, by Saturday night, the news in the Swamp had changed drastically. A lone gunman rushed a security barricade at the Washington Hilton with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives. He was bent on taking out Trump administration officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, according to a manifesto he emailed to family just before making his attempt. Secret Service agents very quickly took him down, and he never reached the ballroom doors. But the scare may prove enough to break some Republican holdouts – like it did with Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

“It’s a legitimate point of view, wanting to maintain the filibuster to – if we’re in the minority – block awful socialist, leftist legislation,” Johnson told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday morning. “But the Senate’s already broken enough… from my standpoint, rip the Band-Aid off. The Democrats will do it. The Democrats will do it when they get the majority. At a moment of national danger, if Democrats refuse to fund DHS, I would say this would be the time to nuke the filibuster for good.”

The DHS shutdown has lasted more than 70 days now, and the Secret Service is among those agencies forced to work without pay or funding for equipment and training. Bartiromo asked the senator if he thought the latest assassination attempt would lead Democrats to fund DHS. “It certainly should,” he replied. “So many of the Senate Democrats ran as moderates. Now, are they really? Let’s have those seven Democrat moderates – I know John Fetterman will step up to the plate – where are the other six that will step up?”

Enough Democrats may join Republicans in funding DHS, but that’s far from a certainty. And if they don’t, the push to end the filibuster will only grow. Whether they should do it or not, two truths stare back at those who resist: First, the legislative agenda will be much easier to pass if only a simple majority is required. Second, the Democrats will almost certainly nuke the filibuster as soon as they hold the levers of power once again – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told us as much back when he thought his party might come out on top in the 2024 election.