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U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to end the Senate filibuster has received backing from Senator Jim Banks and other Republicans. Speaking on Newsmax’ Rob Schmitt Tonight, Banks said he agreed with the president’s proposal to end the rule, which allows Senators to delay or block a vote on measures by speaking through a debate. Newsweek reached out to Banks by email to comment on this story outside normal business hours. Why It Matters The filibuster, in which Senators block a bill by speaking continuously on the floor to prevent a vote, is a key reason Republicans can’t reopen the federal government. The government shutdown has prevailed because most Democrats say they will not vote for a stopgap funding bill unless Congress agrees to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, something most Republicans are against. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after delivering remarks during the America Business Forum at the Kaseya Center on November 05, 2025 in Miami, Florida. Most Senate legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and given Republicans hold a 53 to 47 majority, it is difficult for them to get enough votes to block the filibuster. If the filibuster is banned, it would allow a simple Senate majority vote to pass legislation instead of 60 votes and it would make it easier for the government to reopen and it would also make it easier for Republicans to push through their policies What To Know Trump invited members of the Senate GOP conference to the White House for a breakfast meeting on Wednesday urging them to demand to reform the Senate rules to reopen the government. “We have to get the country open. And the way we’re going to do it this afternoon is to terminate the filibuster,” Trump told the senators. Later, Banks said he agreed with Trump. “I know why he’s frustrated, I agree with him. We should change the Senate rule and do everything that we’ve ever dreamed of doing as Republicans. It’s not just about reopening the government it’s about balancing the budget, it’s about voter ID laws,” he said. He also told NBC News that the president “made a compelling case.” “Democrats are going to get rid of the filibuster the first chance they get, and Republicans have a choice to make. Do we want to get things done? Or are we gonna sit back and do nothing because the filibuster doesn’t allow us to?” Meanwhile, other Republican Senators also expressed their agreement with Trump, including Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. However, others have spoken out against the ban. Senate majority leader John Thune said: “There are not the votes there. And so the main thing we need to be focused on right now, in my view, is getting the government opened up again.” In October, Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican told Fox News: “We’re never going to end the filibuster on a short-term funding bill.” Speaking to Newsweek Scott Lucas, who teaches international politics at University College Dublin, said it was “certainly possible that Trump could convince other Republican senators to end the filibuster but it doesn’t appear to be likely at the moment.” He said ending it would allow the Democrats to “ram through legislation” when they next take power and “control every aspect of Senate business without any Republican opposition.” He added that Democrats would need to support Republicans given there isn’t widespread Republican support to end the filibuster and that is unlikely to happen. What People Are Saying Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: “The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes. “FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED. Elections, including the Midterms, will be rightfully brutal. If we do terminate the Filibuster, we will get EVERYTHING approved, like no Congress in History.” Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican told NBC News: “I completely support the president’s efforts here. Let’s act first before the Democrats have a chance to do it destructively.” What Happens Next The government shutdown, now in its 36th day, continues.
