President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Republicans to end the filibuster in order to end the monthlong government shutdown.
In a late-night Truth Social post, Trump noted that Democrats had tried to eliminate the Senate procedure when they had control of both chambers of Congress and the White House during the Biden administration, but then-Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema — both of whom have since left the Democratic Party to become independents — helped block the effort.
Trump revived talk of the "nuclear option," after returning from his Asia trip this week.
"The one question that kept coming up, however, was how did the Democrats SHUT DOWN the United States of America, and why did the powerful Republicans allow them to do it?" Trump wrote. "The fact is, in flying back, I thought a great deal about that question, WHY?"
The president praised Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson for "doing a GREAT job," but blasted Democrats as "crazed lunatics" suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."
"They want Trillions of Dollars to be taken from our Healthcare System and given to others, who are not deserving — People who have come into our Country illegally, many from prisons and mental institutions," Trump wrote. "This will hurt American citizens, and Republicans will not let it happen."
