Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, sparked a debate with his opinions on the current government shutdown.
Specifically, he told Fox News that in order to counter such shutdowns, the filibuster must be nuked. This is a position commonly taken by Democrats every few years, and has received much pushback from Republicans who believe that it is a crucial tool in protecting the power of the minority party within the government.
Watch:
JUST IN: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) calls on Republicans to NUKE the filibuster only in cases of the government shutting down – so it no longer requires 60 votes to remain open.
“Carving out the filibuster now would make it almost IMPOSSIBLE to shut our government down in the… pic.twitter.com/fx13lwKDVl
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 25, 2025
“I just know that two things must be true in this situation right now,” he stated. “SNAP, depends on two million Pennsylvanians to feed themselves and I believe it’s about 40 million Americans across the nation. It’s a big deal right now. And we all realize that a lot of the premiums are going to go up and we might want to address that too. We can support those two things, but I think it’s fundamentally wrong, regardless, to shut our government down for those things.”
“The Republican side has their priorities and we have our priorities, but you know I think we have to agree that our government must be open,” he added.
“And you think it’s time for Republicans to nuke the filibuster and end this thing?” the senator was asked.
“I’ve broached that before, and I think it’s entirely appropriate. And I would remind all of us, the Democrats, we wanted to nuke the entire filibuster. I’m referring to, right now, carving out this specific, right now. I’m not talking about eliminating the entire filibuster,” he responded, clarifying his position. “Carving out the filibuster now would make it almost impossible to shut our government down in the future, regardless of if it’s a Democrat or the Republicans doing these things. We should remove ourselves, our power, to shut this down in this way.”
X users had a lot to say about this idea:
If the filibuster is supposed to protect the minority, is it okay to ignore it just to stop a government shutdown, or is that dangerous?
— Hardik Gohil (@GohilHardy) October 25, 2025
No! That will backfire. The Senate should pass a law that in future government shutdowns the government will be funded at 90% of its pre-shutdown levels until a budget can be passed. As soon as the House returns from recess they will pass it and Trump will sign it.
— NChome (@NCFamily326529) October 25, 2025
I live in PA and never thought I’d see the day when I would stand with Fetterman.
— Pam.I.Am️ (@prorn) October 25, 2025
Yes but we’d get DC and Puerto Rico as states & a stacked Supreme Court if the Dems ever get control.
— Dazed & Confused (@Dazed1959) October 25, 2025
A Democrat that gets it.
— The Marine Master Sergeant Ret. (@Kalor1965) October 25, 2025
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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