Thune Responds To Trump Demand About The Filibuster

Watch Thune Responds To Trump Demand About The Filibuster - Rizzle on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Thune responds to Trump demand about the filibuster.

00:04As the government shutdown stretches into its 36th day, now the longest in American history,

00:10pressure is mounting in Washington.

00:12Despite the president's calls, Senate Majority Leader John Thune made clear there still aren't

00:17enough Republican votes to change Senate rules.

00:20I don't doubt that he could have some sway with members, Thune said.

00:24But I know where the math is on this issue in the Senate, and it's just not happening.

00:30Thune and others have long defended the filibuster as a way to protect the rights of the minority

00:34party and encourage long-term bipartisan solutions.

00:38I think there are a lot of us that really think the Senate was designed in the first place

00:42to find a long-term, stable solution to problems, Senator Mike Rounds said.

00:47We're not in the minority now, but we could be someday.

00:50It's important to have a filibuster, Senator John Kennedy said.

00:54There's nothing that could move me on the filibuster, Senator Tom Tillis said.

00:59I've been that way for 11 years.

01:01Too old to change now.

01:02Senator John Cornyn said he's now open to changing the filibuster, citing problems with

01:08passing regular appropriations bills and the ability of a small group to allegedly force

01:13shutdowns.

01:14But he emphasized that the focus needs to be on reopening the government.

01:18The shutdown, which has entered its sixth week, is beginning to cause deeper concerns

01:23across the country, especially in areas with a high number of federal workers, like Northern

01:27Virginia.

01:29This is a community here, obviously, in Northern Virginia, that has a lot of federal workers.

01:34So it certainly could have been a factor in the elections, Thune said.

01:38The American people said last night, enough is enough.

01:42Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries,

01:46sent a letter to the White House urging the president to agree to bipartisan talks to end the shutdown

01:51and work toward solutions, including what they called the Republican health care crisis.

01:57It is time to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to bring this Republican shutdown to an end,

02:03Schumer said.