“That would be the end of the Senate as it was originally devised and created going back to our Founding Fathers. »
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Sunday that doing away with the filibuster to end the government shutdown would be “the end to the Senate” as it has always existed.
“That would be the end of the Senate as it was originally devised and created, going back to our Founding Fathers,” Durbin told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” “We have to acknowledge our respect for the minority, and that is what the Senate tries to do in its composition and in its procedure.”
Instead, Durbin pushed for a bipartisan negotiation between the president, Senate Democrats, and leaders in Congress.
“Let’s get this done on a bipartisan basis. We’ve produced a bipartisan approach to many of these issues,” he told Stephanopoulos. “If the president and the leaders in Congress will sit down with us, we can resolve this quickly.”
The idea to get rid of the filibuster was suggested by President Donald Trump early Sunday morning in a tweet encouraging Senate Republicans to take the “nuclear option” to pass a long-term budget deal with a simple majority, rather than 60 votes.
Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our Military and Safety at the Border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked. If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget, no C. R.’s!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21,2018
Durbin criticized the suggestion in light of the ongoing “good faith” discussions between Democrats and Republicans.
“There are bipartisan conversations going on right now. I know that Sen. Schumer has met with leaders of those efforts, Democrats and Republicans, who are in good faith trying to find common ground and put this behind us,” he said. “At the end of the day, the president needs to step up and lead in this situation.”
His words seem to echo Trump’s criticisms of President Barack Obama’s handling of the 2013 shutdown when, during an interview with Fox News, Trump said:
“Well, very simply, you have to get everybody in a room. You have to be a leader. The president has to lead. He’s got to get [the Speaker of the House] and everybody else in a room, and they have to make a deal. You have to be nice, and be angry, and be wild, and cajole, and do all sorts of things. But you have to get a deal.”
#TBT to when Trump lectured President Obama about how to negotiate a deal to prevent a government shutdown, saying “the president has to lead.” “You have to get everybody in a room” to get a deal because it’s “good for the country.” pic.twitter.com/sdtcWRrWzz
— DNC Press (@dncpress) January 18,2018
