Senate Republican defies Trump’s shutdown strategy, says one key principle ‘shouldn’t’ change even as pressure mounts

Senator John Curtis from Utah says he will not vote to get rid of the Senate filibuster. This puts him at odds with President Trump, who wants to eliminate the rule so Republicans can reopen the government without Democratic support.

According to The Hill, the filibuster requires 60 votes for most bills to pass in the Senate. Trump wants to use what people call the “nuclear option” to change this rule so bills only need 51 votes instead.

Curtis wrote on X that he refuses to back this plan. “The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate. Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it,” he said when responding to a report about Trump’s demand.

This fight shows how much the shutdown is testing Republican unity

The debate is happening while the government stays closed. Senate Republicans have voted 13 times to pass a bill from the House that would reopen federal offices and keep them running until Nov. 21. Every single time, Democrats have stopped it by refusing to give the 60 votes needed.

John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, said he would protect the filibuster when he ran for his leadership job last year. Other top Republicans on his team agree with keeping it. James Lankford from Oklahoma and John Cornyn from Texas both said earlier this month they would not support getting rid of it.

But not everyone thinks the issue is settled. Some Republicans told reporters they expect Trump to keep pushing as the shutdown goes on. One senator who did not want to be named said last week that “the pressure from the White House will become pretty enormous.”

When asked about it, Thune told reporters that removing the filibuster would be a “bad idea.” The shutdown has already led to mass layoffs that federal workers are calling retaliatory.

Republicans have 53 seats in the Senate right now. That means they could change the rules without any Democratic votes if they wanted to. They would just need to vote to create a new rule saying the filibuster does not apply to spending bills.

People call this the “nuclear option” because it would be such a huge change. If the filibuster goes away, whichever party controls the White House and Congress could pass almost any law they want with just 51 votes. That would let them completely change major policies every time they win an election. Trump has made his position on the shutdown clear in recent speeches that have taken unexpected turns.