Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wrote in The Wall Steet Journal in March. Advertisement “My fellow conservatives and I have proudly used the 60-vote threshold to protect the country from all sorts of bad ideas and dangerous policies,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wrote in a March 11 opinion piece for the New York Post. “But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.” Advertisement Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he has “seen enough” and is ready to get rid of the filibuster, which Democrats have successfully employed to essentially grind Trump’s and the GOP’s agenda to a halt.
“I have seen enough, and heard enough excuses. We cannot let Democrats sabotage this country,” Lee wrote on X. “If nuking the filibuster is the only way to deliver on wildly popular legislation like the SAVE America Act, then we need to nuke the filibuster and start passing bills.”
I have seen enough, and heard enough excuses. We cannot let Democrats sabotage this country.
If nuking the filibuster is the only way to deliver on wildly popular legislation like the SAVE America Act, then we need to nuke the filibuster and start passing bills.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) April 17, 2026
“By ending the filibuster now, Republicans could pass important legislation that the public overwhelmingly supports, but Democrats oppose,” Sen
“Again, reality is, the votes aren’t there, and we can talk about the relative merits of the filibuster, or whether it’s relevant in the modern world,” Thune recently told reporters. “All those things are great conversations, but the practical reality is, the math isn’t there. It doesn’t add up, we don’t have the votes.”
Trump told the Daily Signal late last month that Republicans should do the right thing and nuke it.
Just vote, and you’ll get everything you want.”
I asked @POTUS his response to concerns reconcilation won’t work to pass SAVE America.
“The parliamentarian is going to have to make a decision on that,” he told @DailySignal.
“I say, end the filibuster. Terminate the filibuster. Just vote, and you’ll get everything you… pic.twitter.com/Xo39bVZ2Ha
— Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell (@TheElizMitchell) March 30, 2026
Thune, however, who is supposed to be the chamber’s leader and the leader of the party in the Senate, made excuses
Four anti-Trump Republicans voted on Thursday against a measure that would include elements of the SAVE America Act in a budget reconcilation bill that funds elements of the Department of Homeland Security for years.
Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all of them Trump nemeses, joined all Democrats in rejecting a provision offered by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).
Their defection occurred during the Senate’s lengthy “vote-a-rama,” where lawmakers could propose votes on a wide range of amendments, regardless of their alignment with the main budget plan. The amendment failed with a vote of 48 to 50, highlighting what several Republicans had cautioned for weeks prior to their attempt to take control of the floor for the debate on the SAVE America Act last month — it lacked sufficient support within the GOP to pass, Fox noted.
“I say, end the filibuster,” Trump told The Daily Signal March 29. “Terminate the filibuster
It seems that the proposal faced significant challenges, even after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., initiated an oral filibuster to advance the measure with a simple majority of 50 votes.
