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Senate won’t touch filibuster to end shutdown, Thune says

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune shot down speculation that Republicans would deploy the so-called nuclear option to break the funding stalemate.

The idea has gained traction on social media, particularly among Democrats who already support getting rid of the 60-vote threshold needed for legislation. But it found a new footing when a sliver of GOP lawmakers — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) — suggested that it should be an option on the table.

Thune, asked about the possibility, said Thursday he is opposed to changing the legislative filibuster and indicated that he had not gotten pressure from the White House to do so.

“There’s always a lot of swirl out there, as you know, from social media, et cetera, but no, I have not had that conversation,” Thune said when asked if the White House was advocating for the move.

Deploying the nuclear option — where the Senate changes its rules by a simple majority vote — would require near unity in the Senate GOP. A few members have flirted with the idea — including Moreno, who said during a Fox News interview this week that “maybe it’s time to think about the filibuster.”

But a larger swath of Republicans don’t have much of an interest in getting rid of the hurdle. Nuking the legislative filibuster sparks unease and outright opposition with a number of GOP senators, who worry that it will come back to bite them when they are in the minority.

Thune, when he became majority leader in January, reiterated his support for the legislative filibuster. And Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, reiterated Thursday he also does not support getting rid of it.

They got support from Speaker Mike Johnson this week. The Louisiana Republican said that while it’s ultimately a decision for the Senate, he believed it would be a misstep.

“Is it possible? Yes. … Is it wise? A lot of people would tell you it’s not,” he told reporters Wednesday. “I mean, on the Republican side, I would be deeply concerned if the Democrats had a bare majority in the Senate right now.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

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Congress

John Thune says he’s aiming to land DHS deal Thursday

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to clinch a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding agreement Thursday.

“I think the Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final” offer, Thune told reporters. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”

“We’re going to know soon,” he added.

The South Dakota Republican declined to discuss details of the offer but suggested it was similar to where the discussions were headed over the weekend. GOP senators then were looking at a bipartisan deal that would fund most of DHS but leave out funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.

That offer was rejected by Democrats. But two people granted anonymity to discuss the revised proposal said it, too, omitted only ERO money but included additional language to try to address some of Democrats’ concerns.

Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Senate is expected to vote again on the House-passed DHS bill Thursday afternoon. The House is also voting again on DHS funding Thursday and is planning to leave town Friday morning for a two-week holiday recess. Progress in the Senate could prompt House GOP leaders to stay in session in hopes of sending a bill to President Donald Trump.

Asked about the Senate vote, Thune said he hoped there would be “some finality in this real soon.”

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Collins meets the Problem Solvers

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Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins joined the House Problem Solvers Caucus lunch Thursday to talk about the stalled Homeland Security funding effort and proposals to overhaul federal immigration enforcement activities.

“I think everyone is pretty frustrated at this point,” the Maine Republican said in an interview after the bipartisan meeting.

The centrist group, which extended the invitation to Collins, talked through the pain points on finding a path out of the DHS shutdown that has stretched more than 40 days and is triggering massive air travel disruptions. The conversation comes ahead of a House vote later Thursday on funding DHS, where moderates are looking to break the impasse.

Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.

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Brian Fitzpatrick delivers a warning on GOP reconciliation redo

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As House Republicans start to dream big about another party-line bill, one key member who voted down the last GOP reconciliation bill is warning his colleagues not to count on his support.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) referenced his vote last summer against the “big, beautiful bill” in an interview Thursday and suggested he was prepared to oppose another GOP-only bill if it, too, includes spending cuts he opposes to social programs.

“You saw what I did on the first reconciliation bill,” Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick and just one more House Republican could be enough to tank a party-line package given Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim majority.

Still, many of Fitzpatrick’s colleagues are making plans for an expansive new GOP-only bill that would include more money for Homeland Security operations, Iran war funding and other cost-of-living priorities, while demanding it be fully offset with spending cuts — possibly from social programs targeted for “fraud prevention.”

“You never say ‘never’ at anything, but I’m never a fan of single-party bills,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s just my approach to government.”

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