Trump warns shutdown could last ‘very long time,’ urges McConnell to go ‘nuclear’ and end filibuster

President Donald Trump on Friday warned Senate Democrats that if they don’t vote for his border wall, there will be a “very long” government shutdown beginning Friday night. And he pressured Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to use the “nuclear option,” which would end the right to filibuster legislation in the Senate and allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.

The “nuclear option” refers to a last-resort way for the majority party in the Senate to overcome objection by the minority, and it involves using a simple majority of 51 votes rather than 60.

“Senator Mitch McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything,” Trump tweeted. “He will need Democrat votes, but as shown in the House, good things happen. If enough Dems don’t vote, it will be a Democrat Shutdown!”

Republican senators will meet with the president at 10:30 a.m. ET, the White House said just hours after Trump turned up the heat on Twitter.

But McConnell has said in the past that triggering the “nuclear option” in order to pass legislation was “not going to happen” because doing so would fundamentally change how the Senate operates. Read more

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Trump warns shutdown could last ‘very long time,’ urges McConnell to go ‘nuclear’ and end filibuster

President Donald Trump on Friday warned Senate Democrats that if they don’t vote for his border wall, there will be a “very long” government shutdown beginning Friday night. And he pressured Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to use the “nuclear option,” which would end the right to filibuster legislation in the Senate and allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.