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An announcement from Donald Trump saw Fox News come to a halt on Wednesday afternoon as the US president delivered an update on the state of the Republican party while the US government is facing its longest-ever shutdown in history. Trump vowed to do 'whatever it takes' to "terminate the filibuster", a Senate tradition of unlimited debate that can delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question. The President voiced his concerns as he issued a stark warning to his opposition in a hard-hitting speech broadcast live on the conservative US news channel. Trump declared: "It's the only way you can do it. And if you don't terminate the filibuster, you'll be in bad shape. We won't pass any legislation. "There'll be no legislation passed for three and a quarter years-we have three and a quarter years, so it's a long time." His remarks followed the announcement of Democratic victories in several races: Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated former New Jersey General Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli to become governor in the state; former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va. ) triumphed over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia's gubernatorial race, and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran an independent campaign, the Express reports. In recent days, Trump has thrown his support behind Cuomo. California approved a ballot measure for a mid-decade redistricting push, which could potentially allow Democrats to gain up to five more seats in the 2026 midterm cycle. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages Trump has taken to Truth Social, encouraging senators to abandon the longstanding requirement of 60 votes to advance legislation to its final stages. The 60-vote threshold means that Republicans cannot solely depend on their own senators to pass Government funding legislation; they also need the support of at least seven Democrats, given the chamber's 53-47 partisan split. The filibuster was not established by a specific act and is not mentioned in the US Constitution. Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here . The Constitution delegates internal rule-setting to the Senate itself, and for much of its history, a senator could block action by filibustering. It wasn't until 1917 when the Senate voted to create a system known as cloture, by which a two-thirds supermajority of senators present and voting could cut off a filibuster and move on to other business. Then, in 1975, the Senate voted to lower the supermajority to three-fifths of senators serving overall, creating its current level of 60 senators.
