Republicans are vowing to protect the Senate filibuster even as it hinders Trump’s agenda

WASHINGTON – The new Republican majority in the Senate is promising to keep the filibuster and maintain the 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation – even if it gets in the way of the Trump agenda it wants to advance.

Shortly after being elected the next majority leader, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., answered clearly and unequivocally when asked Wednesday whether the filibuster would remain unchanged under his watch.

“Yes,” he told reporters.

In interviews this week, several Republican senators representing different ideological factions said they support maintaining the filibuster rule as they prepare to take full control of Washington when President-elect Donald Trump is back in the White House , a Senate majority of 52 or 53 seats and a slim majority in the House of Representatives.

“I think there is agreement that the filibuster is important. So I don’t think it’s controversial,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who ran unsuccessfully for majority leader, said Tuesday.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said he is committed to protecting the filibuster — and will not be persuaded by Trump or anyone else.

“NO. No. No. We have to keep the filibuster,” Tuberville said.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he “absolutely” supports maintaining the 60-vote threshold even if Trump revives his calls for repeal – something he unsuccessfully urged Republicans to do in his first term.

“Senators tend to defend their power, just like everyone else. “I don’t know many wimps in the U.S. Senate,” Cramer said. “I think we have all experienced the possibility of losing the filibuster as a defensive tool. And I would be surprised if there were enough Republicans who thought we should change that now.”

When Democrats controlled Congress, they did not share Republicans’ commitment to maintaining the filibuster. In 2022, they pursued a move away from the 60-vote rule to pass national voting rights laws with a majority vote. They fell two votes short of changing the rules, although they signaled they would revisit their push to pass abortion rights if they win the 2024 election.

Republicans are less eager to break the filibuster, in part because some of their top priorities are already exempt from the 60-vote rule. These include the confirmation of judges and Cabinet nominees, which require simple majorities. Other priorities such as tax cuts and changes to spending laws can be achieved through the Senate’s 51-vote “reconciliation process.”

In fact, Republicans hope to begin that process by submitting a budget resolution in early January, before Trump is inaugurated, two senior GOP aides told NBC News. The measure would allow them to pass some of their top priorities on a party-line basis after Trump takes office, including extending Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts, providing more funding for border security and other measures.

Conservative senators also view the 60-vote rule as a safeguard against Democrats passing their most ambitious progressive priorities when they eventually return to power. These senators believe their party has more to lose than gain by not requiring a supermajority.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he supports keeping the filibuster “forever — for the duration of the republic.”

“If we wanted to take over the country and … get what we want, we would get rid of the filibuster,” Paul said.

Instead, he said, the Republican Party will accept that it will have to govern “at a much slower pace” and will not be able to “transform the country that quickly.”

“Other than one or two things that are passed in budget reconciliation, most things require 60 votes,” he said.

The filibuster did not come up Tuesday in the Senate Republican Forum, where they heard from candidates for leadership positions, senators in the room said.

Maintaining the filibuster means that a number of must-pass measures, such as government funding, a farm bill and a debt ceiling extension, require 60 votes in the Senate. The GOP has secured 52 seats, with only Pennsylvania still too close to call, NBC News predicts. That means Democrats will have a significant say in these measures.

“Neither chamber will have an overwhelming majority, and this spending bill will be a bipartisan product,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Budget Committee who will become vice chair when Democrats relinquish power on Jan. 3.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has threatened to resign from the Senate if Republicans kill the filibuster, said he remains confident the party will preserve it in the second Trump administration.

“I don’t think that’s changing,” Tillis said.

Outgoing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters after the election that “the filibuster is here to stay” in the new era of Republican control. (Although he won’t be at the helm, McConnell has announced he will finish the remaining two years of his Senate term as a rank-and-file member.)

Paul said Republicans will accept the limitations of the legislative filibuster even if it hinders their goals such as restricting abortion.

“They’re making people say, ‘Oh my God, the Republicans are going to ban abortion.’ But do you know why there won’t be a ban on abortion? Because of the filibuster,” Paul said. “So there’s actually a very high-minded purpose behind the filibuster. Those of us who are in the majority now should get some credit from the left who say, “Oh, we’re all Hitler and we all want to destroy democracy.” No, we’re actually giving the Democrats a vote, um to make sure Republicans don’t win every battle.”