A prominent Republican U.S. Senator strongly denounced as “foolish and lazy” an idea that President Donald Trump has repeatedly championed: eliminating the filibuster.

The filibuster generally allows the minority party — currently the Democrats — to block legislation or procedures by requiring 60 votes instead of a simple majority. (Generally, because the majority party in theory could have 60 or more members, which has not happened since 2009 and 2010.)

In October on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” according to the Associated Press.

In November on Truth Social the president was even more expressive.

“The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes,” Trump wrote, as Politico reported.

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“The filibuster is hurting the Republican Party,” Trump told Politico in December. “You can do everything” if it is eliminated, he said. “We can do everything we want.”

“We are going to have the Save America Act, one way or the other, after approval by Congress through the very proper use of the Filibuster or, at minimum, by a Talking Filibuster, à la Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” Trump wrote last month, as Mediaite reported.

Senator Tillis is of a different mindset, and although he did not mention the president by name, he blasted “politicians” who support getting rid of the filibuster.

“Eliminating the filibuster is a foolish and lazy idea pushed by politicians seeking short-term gain at the expense of causing irreparable long-term harm to our nation,” Tillis wrote in a statement on the SAVE Act. “Succeeding in eliminating the filibuster would significantly weaken the minority party, end the need for bipartisan compromise, and allow erratic swings in policy that would transform America for the worse. Those are just the consequences of a best-case outcome.”

As for the SAVE Act — legislation critics call a voter suppression bill but which Trump has said must pass — Tillis said he supports some, but not all, of it.

“The only real path to address the American people’s declining confidence in our elections is for both parties to find common ground on legislation that supports universal adoption of voter ID, proof of citizenship, and other vital election integrity measures,” he wrote.

Trump has repeatedly said that if the SAVE Act passes Republicans will not lose another race for 50 years.

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Top election officials are warning that President Donald Trump’s sweeping plan to overhaul voting systems would unleash chaos if signed into law — particularly before the November midterms — and could open the door to federal interference in U.S. elections.

Democracy Docket calls the SAVE America Act “a major assault on Americans’ right to vote and states’ constitutional authority over elections.”

The bill forces voters to show documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as an official, certified birth certificate or U.S. passport, to be able to register to vote. It would also require photo ID for voters wishing to cast a ballot, and require all states to share voter data with the federal government. Some estimates say more than 140 million Americans do not have a valid passport, and millions do not have access to a certified copy of their birth certificates.

The SAVE Act “would create chaos in the administration of elections,” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said Thursday. “All of us know this.”

Noting that the bill’s requirements would go into effect as soon as it is signed, Simon described the move as “unheard of for something this sweeping in scope to take effect immediately.”

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Simon pointed to a similar Kansas law that disenfranchised 31,000 eligible citizens from being able to register to vote, according to Democracy Docket.

Others also weighed in with concerns.

“This bill assumes that every voter can navigate these requirements and navigate them quickly, and that is just not reality,” Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas said.

“Imagine a woman, divorced, she’s moved, changed her name and needs to update her voter registration,” Thomas said. “Under this bill, that is no longer a simple matter. It means tracking down multiple documents.”

Thomas offered other possible examples, such as an 82-year-old man, who “just moved into assisted living. He’s voted his entire life. He’s never had a passport. No one knows where his birth certificate is at this point, and he doesn’t have a family member to help him use a computer.”

“That lifelong voter could be blocked, not because he’s ineligible, but because he can’t produce the right document at the right time.”

The bill imposes technological and administrative requirements on states but does not fund them, suggested Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.

At the state level, Hobbs said, Washington would have to spend $35 to $40 million to comply with the SAVE Act. Locally, counties in his state would also have to spend millions of dollars annually to comply.

Then there is President Trump’s threat that the federal government, or the GOP, should be in charge of voting.

Last month, the president said, “We should take over the voting in at least many – 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”

Secretary Simon “said his office is preparing for that possibility as if it were an emergency event, like a severe weather event or a power outage,” Democracy Docket reported.

“I regret to say, and it’s very sad to say, that in the year 2026, I have to add to that bucket the possibility that our own federal government will do something that will either directly or even indirectly interfere with the freedom to vote,” he said. “We have to treat this like a bomb threat.”

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The left’s long‑simmering anger and increasingly fraught relationship with Democratic Senator John Fetterman boiled over on Thursday, when the Pennsylvania Democrat cast the deciding vote to advance Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin’s nomination for Secretary of Homeland Security out of committee and toward a full confirmation vote.

Democrats have provided numerous reasons why they, unlike Fetterman, oppose Senator Mullin’s nomination. They cite Mullin’s lack of qualifications: he is the only current U.S. Senator without a bachelor’s degree, he has no national security or law enforcement experience — he ran his family’s plumbing business before being elected to Congress in 2012. And they cite his temperament.

The nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists called Mullin “uniquely unqualified to lead the third largest federal department with a half a million employees, nine agencies including ICE, FEMA and the Coast Guard among others, and roughly a $100 billion budget.”

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And the Republican chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Rand Paul, said on Wednesday that Mullin “applauds violence” against his political opponents.

But Senator Fetterman on Thursday had a different perception of Mullin.

Explaining why he voted yes, Fetterman wrote, “I truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind.”

Critics noted that he had immediately declared his support as soon as Mullin’s nomination was announced, saying last week, “I will vote for him, of course.”

Fetterman added Thursday that his “AYE” vote is “rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security.”

Fox News quickly reposted Fetterman’s remarks.

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Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts asked, “Can Pennsylvanians sue him for impersonating a Democrat?”

Democratic strategist Jon Cooper commented, “As someone who strongly backed John Fetterman‘s run for the Senate in 2022, I’m sorry to say that he’s an absolute disgrace. I’ll support whoever challenges him in the 2028 primary.”

The Pennsylvania Working Families Party called for Fetterman to be primaried.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, after his fellow Pennsylvania lawmaker’s vote to advance Mullin, wrote: “Once again Sen Fetterman shows why he is Trump’s favorite Democrat. He needs to go.”

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