ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska’s senators are breaking with President Trump’s demand to eliminate the filibuster, as the 37-day government shutdown continues impacting tens of thousands of federal workers statewide.
“I think the 60-vote threshold in the Senate has done more to keep Alaska’s economy from being turned into a national park,” Sen. Dan Sullivan said Thursday, telling Alaska’s News Source he would not support terminating the rule.
The filibuster requires 60 senators to end debate once invoked. Republicans need Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold and end the shutdown.
After the president urged Senate Republicans to kill the filibuster, which could end the government shutdown, Alaska’s senators say they aren’t taking the bait.
That’s one solution Republicans have been pushing for 37 days. The other option would be to introduce new legislation which would fund the government and garner enough votes to survive a filibuster. House Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the chamber closed throughout the shutdown.
Now, President Donald Trump offered a third option Wednesday: Kill the filibuster entirely.
“It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that’s terminate the filibuster,” Trump said. “It’s the only way you can do it, and if you don’t terminate the filibuster, you’ll be in bad shape. We won’t pass any legislation.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has pushed back against the president’s pleas.
“I don’t doubt that he could have some sway with members,” Thune told reporters Wednesday. “But I know where the math is on this issue in the Senate, and … it’s just not happening.”
Both Alaska senators rejected the idea Thursday.
“I don’t think we even have anything close to having the votes on that,” Sullivan said.
In a statement to Alaska’s News Source Thursday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she agreed with Senate Republican leadership.
“Abolishing the legislative filibuster simply because the majority is frustrated at not getting its way on a particular vote is short-sighted and self-destructive,” Murkowski said. “It would inflict lasting harm on Congress’s ability to voice the will of the people. To end this shutdown, we need to sit down and negotiate in good faith—not resort to the nuclear option. If the legislative filibuster is abolished, both sides will regret it.”
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