Trump presses Republicans to eliminate filibuster after Democrats' wins

President Trump urged Republicans to get rid of the Senate filibuster rule and move swiftly to pass voter reform after Tuesday's Democratic sweep in key state races across the U.S.

In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, the president encouraged his party to crack down on election reform measures and bypass the filibuster, which mandates three-fifths of the Senate, or 60 members, approve of most legislation before it reaches the president’s desk.

“REPUBLICANS, TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER! GET BACK TO PASSING LEGISLATION AND VOTER REFORM!” Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on his Truth Social platform, shortly before 11 p.m. EST.

A few minutes later, the president posted a list of several voting measures he wants passed in Congress, where Republicans hold the majority in both the Senate and the House.

“Pass Voter Reform, Voter ID, No Mail-In Ballots. Save our Supreme Court from “Packing,” No Two State addition, etc. TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!!!” Trump added in the subsequent post.

The comments came after Democratic victories were announced in several races: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) defeated former New Jersey General Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli (R) to be elected governor in the state; former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) beat Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani became mayor-elect over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran an independent campaign. In the last few days, Trump threw his support behind Cuomo.

After California approved of a ballot measure for a mid-decade redistricting push, which would give Democrats a chance to pick up as many as five more seats in the 2026 midterm cycle, Trump posted again.

The California ballot initiative was pushed heavily by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and presented as a response to similar efforts undertaken by Republicans, especially in Texas, where the president urged Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to move forward with redistricting.

“…AND SO IT BEGINS!” Trump wrote.

Discussion surrounding the Senate filibuster has resurfaced in recent weeks as the government shutdown continues with no end in sight. Trump has pushed Republicans in the Senate to move forward with the “nuclear option” and create a carveout to the legislative rule to allow senators to vote to reopen the government with a simple majority vote.

Republican leaders in Congress have pushed back on the idea, warning of the precedent it would set to remove the safeguard that they credit with preventing Democrats from passing some of their most progressive and polarizing policies.

It was not immediately clear whether the president, in his Tuesday night post, was pushing for a carveout to reopen the government or suggesting his party bypass the procedural safeguard to push through voter reform measures — or both.

The White House did not respond to an immediate request for comment.