President Donald Trump wants to push through his agenda no matter what it takes. On Tuesday, he proved that when he tweeted out that the Senate change the rules to eliminate the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster when it comes to a spending bill.
The GOP in the Senate have put down their foot and gave the president a short answer: NO.
This is what Trump tweeted:
The spending bill Congress just passed expires on September 30, which means they need to develop a new one by October. The bill that passed did not come easy. From The Washington Post:
House Republicans are still split on whether to approve a bill he supports to roll back the Affordable Care Act, and Trump had to agree to major concessions on a stopgap spending bill in order for it to win support in the Senate, which typically requires 60 votes to pass legislation. Republicans only control 52 votes in the 100-seat chamber.That made it easier for Democrats to block any funding for the creation of a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, which had been a top priority for Trump. They were also able to continue funding programs that Trump has sought to cut off or scale back, such as Planned Parenthood and the National Institutes of Health.
Despite the outrage from Trump, the GOP senators insisted they will not change the rules. From Politico:
“I’m not going to support a change in rules. The Founding Fathers set it up this way,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who’s been in Washington about three weeks longer than Trump. “It’s worked for centuries. It can still work. We don’t have a rule problem, we’ve got a people problem.”He and I differ on that because without the filibuster this country would’ve been gone a long time ago,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the most senior GOP senator. “I’m gonna talk to him about it. I’ll get him back on line.”
Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (TX) considers the idea of lowering the votes a “real mistake” and reminded everyone that the 60 vote requirement has “saved us from a lot of really bad policy.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) did change the rules when it came to Trump’s Supreme Court nomination. But he vowed not to do that when it comes to legislation. He made it known the senate will not change the rules. From The Hill:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed the door on the idea a few hours later, saying the elimination of the filibuster “will not happen.”“There is an overwhelming majority on a bipartisan basis not interested in changing the way the Senate operates on the legislative calendar,” he said.
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