President Trump renewed a push Thursday to get the Senate to get rid of the filibuster, ahead of the House considering two highly anticipated immigration bills.
He argued that the parliamentary procedure was “killing” Republicans by preventing them from advancing their legislative agenda.
“What is the purpose of the House doing good immigration bills when you need 9 votes by Democrats in the Senate, and the Dems are only looking to Obstruct (which they feel is good for them in the Mid-Terms),” Trump tweeted. “Republicans must get rid of the stupid Filibuster Rule-it is killing you.”
What is the purpose of the House doing good immigration bills when you need 9 votes by Democrats in the Senate, and the Dems are only looking to Obstruct (which they feel is good for them in the Mid-Terms). Republicans must get rid of the stupid Filibuster Rule-it is killing you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2018
The House on Thursday will vote on an immigration bill authored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., before turning to a proposal put forth by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Ryan’s bill is considered a compromise between moderate and conservative immigration reform measures demanded by his fractured caucus.
The issue of immigration was pressed upon House leadership by moderate Republicans, who in a rare move worked with Democrats to sign a discharge petition that could have forced votes on a series of immigration bills that mostly rejected conservative reform provisions. When Ryan announced consideration of the two immigration bills, he averted the maneuver.
The Senate is also planning to introduce a standalone immigration bill and may try to vote on it this week, GOP leaders said Tuesday.
Trump has repeatedly called for the Senate to do away with the filibuster rule, which would let Republicans pass bills in the upper chamber with a simple majority of 51 votes rather than a supermajority of 60. The GOP holds only 51 seats in the Senate — a slim majority that is in jeopardy with the 2018 midterms.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has previously rejected such a change, telling reporters eliminating the filibuster “would fundamentally change the way the Senate has worked for a very long time.”
