U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks to reporters as Senate Republican leaders hold a press conference following their weekly policy lunch and weeks into the continuing U.S. government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 15, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
After more than a month, the partial shutdown of the United States' federal government drags on. President Donald Trump is calling for Senate Republicans to "get rid of the filibuster" in order to get a spending bill passed and end the shutdown, but many conservatives are uncomfortable with that idea.
Frustrated Americans were hoping that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) had found enough votes to get a bill passed in the Senate. But Punchbowl News' Andrew Desiderio, in a November 5 post on X, formerly Twitter, reported, "Thune on the filibuster post-Trump breakfast: 'I know where the votes are. The answer is, there aren't the votes.'"
Reporting from CBS News' Caitlin Huey-Burns is consistent with Desiderio's.
Huey-Burns tweeted, "Thune after meeting with Trump at the [White House] just told us there is still no appetite to get rid of the filibuster. The votes are not there. He said Trump may be able to sway some senators on that but not enough."
Semafor's Burgess Everett, formerly of Twitter, tweeted, "Thune says Trump may be able to move some GOP senators on the filibuster but adds: 'I know where math is on this issue in the Senate. It's just not happening.'"