NEW: GOP Senator Flips, Sides With Trump On Nuking Filibuster
Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) announced Monday that he had changed his mind on the 60-vote requirement needed to advance a piece of legislation without threat of filibuster. This brings Mullin in line with President Donald Trump, who has been urging senators to axe the rule ahead of a likely attempt from Senate Democrats to shut down the government once again in January.
“My position on the filibuster has changed,” the senator posted on X Monday, adding, “Let’s go all in.”
President Trump has increasingly called on Republicans to “nuke” the filibuster rule after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rallied his caucus to continue the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Republicans currently control 53 seats in the upper chamber, meaning that they cannot pass most pieces of legislation, including budget measures, without support from some Democrats.
Despite the president’s stance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and a number of Republican senators have vowed to keep the filibuster rule in-tact. “I don’t doubt that he could have some sway with members. But I know where the math is on this issue in the Senate, and … it’s just not happening,” Thune said of Trump’s plan on November 3.
While speaking with Fox News host Will Cain on his “Will Cain Country” podcast, Mullin explained why he decided to back President Trump’s position after initially committing to preserving the filibuster. “I kind of leaned on the side of, for a little bit of going, ‘well, should we really nuke the filibuster?’ Because once you do that, it is nuclear. It goes nuclear. It opens the door wide open. And I was like, ‘why would we open the door wide open for the Democrats?’” Mullin explained.
“But I was in a meeting with leadership just recently, in fact, last week, and I brought this point up; ‘guys. Does anybody in this room believe that the Democrats aren’t going to nuke the filibuster?’ And if they do, what they’re going to do is they’re going to go after all the courts. They’re going to try to pack the courts, not with 13, not with 11, but now they’re saying 23,” the senator continued.
“And you’re going, okay, if we know they’re going to pack the courts, we know we think they’re going to make Washington, D .C. a state, Puerto Rico a state, maybe Guam a state, And that why wouldn’t we just go ahead and do it anyways, because we’re not interested in the politics of it, we’re interested in the policy of it. Why wouldn’t we install good policy?”
He further revealed that some senators remained apprehensive over backing Trump’s plans over fears that Democrats will undo everything Republicans had already done. Mullin countered this point by arguing that if Republicans simply put popular policies in place, Democrats undoing everything out of spite would backfire on them.
“Because if it’s sound policy, and they do undo everything we did, and it put us in havoc, then maybe it’ll backfire on them. Because if we believe they’re going to do it, then why don’t we just go ahead and get it done and do what the president’s wanting us to do to put all this policy forward?”
My position on the filibuster has changed.
Let’s go all in. pic.twitter.com/KrOONgLdQN
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) December 15, 2025
The ongoing debate over ending the filibuster comes ahead of a potential January 30 funding deadline, when Democrats could once again shut the government down under the terms of the filibuster rule. Under the terms of ending the previous shutdown, Republicans agreed to vote on Affordable Care Act (ACA) extensions that are set to expire under the terms of the Democrats’ own reconciliation bill under former President Biden.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has hinted that another shutdown could be coming if Democrats do not get their way.
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