Mitch McConnell says Trump's call to end the legislative filibuster 'will not happen'
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is having none of President Trump's proposal for Republicans to end the Senate's legislative filibuster. After Trump in a Tuesday morning tweet suggested eliminating the filibuster in favor of letting legislation pass by a simple majority, McConnell outright told reporters later Tuesday that "will not happen."
Trump's push came on the heels of the recently negotiated budget proposal. Trump said the reason the bill was a compromise is that Republicans need "60 votes in the Senate, which are not there!" McConnell explained during his weekly press conference Tuesday that eliminating the 60-vote threshold required to end debate on legislation would "fundamentally change" the way the Senate has worked "for a very long time." "There is an overwhelming majority ... not interested in changing the way the Senate operates," McConnell said.
Politico noted that last month, 61 senators sent McConnell a letter pushing for the filibuster to stay in place. McConnell has previously vowed to keep the legislative filibuster in place "for as long as he was majority leader," The Hill reported.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Looks like Trump might have to resort to his other proposal in his Tuesday morning tweet, which is to "elect more Republican senators in 2018."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Employees are branching out rather than moving up with career minimalismThe explainer From career ladder to lily pad
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Jane Austen lives on at these timeless hotelsThe Week Recommends Here’s where to celebrate the writing legend’s 250th birthday
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
White House says admiral ordered potential war crimeSpeed Read The Trump administration claims Navy Vice Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley ordered a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat, not Pete Hegseth
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime