President Donald Trump continued his shutdown assault on Democrats by arguing that the party "just wants illegal immigrants to pour into the country." | Getty Trump tells Senate GOP to go nuclear

President Donald Trump began the second day of the government shutdown imploring Senate Republicans to invoke the so-called nuclear option, having the chamber vote on all legislation on a majority basis.

"If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget, no C.R.’s!," the president wrote on Twitter shortly after 7:30 a.m.


In the past, key GOP senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have rebuffed the president, telling him that going nuclear and ending the legislative filibuster could be a damaging move in the long term. If Republicans lost control of the chamber, a 51-vote threshold for legislation could potentially make it easier for more liberal priorities, such as universal health care, to pass the Senate.

A spokesman for McConnell said Sunday: "The Republican Conference opposes changing the rules on legislation."

It is not even clear whether Republicans could muster 51 votes by themselves. On Friday, four Republicans and McConnell voted against allowing the House-passed continuing resolution to move forward. For procedural reasons, McConnell had to vote against the proposal in order to bring it up later.

In recent years, both parties have curtailed the filibuster, which, when invoked, requires 60 votes to pass legislation. The filibuster was designed to differentiate the Senate from the House by ensuring that the majority could not steamroll the minority.

In 2013, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pushed his colleagues to require 51 votes for all presidential and judicial nominees below the Supreme Court. After it became clear that Neil Gorsuch would not receive 60 votes last year, McConnell pushed and succeeded in ending the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, paving the way for Gorsuch's confirmation.

Trump also continued his shutdown assault on Democrats by arguing that the party "just wants illegal immigrants to pour into the country." One of the sticking points of the government shutdown is the future of so-called Dreamers, but the president himself has said that he "loves these people."

The Senate is adjourned until 1 p.m. Sunday. McConnell vowed Saturday night to hold another vote on reopening the government on Monday at 1 a.m. The House is adjourned until 2 p.m.