Thune Says Republicans ‘Not Even Close’ to Ending Filibuster After Trump’s Suggestion

The Republican Senate leader provided an update as the government shutdown continues.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), joined by other Senate Republicans, speaks during the fifteenth day of the government shutdown at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 15, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday that Senate Republicans don’t have the votes to end the upper chamber’s filibuster rule after President Donald Trump called for the procedure’s termination amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, Thune was asked about Trump’s calls to end the filibuster, which would remove a 60-vote hurdle to pass any measure, in order to end the shutdown and pass measures to advance his administration’s policies.