Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) said Friday on NewsNation’s Cuomo that he supports eliminating the Senate filibuster to allow Republicans to pass government funding legislation without Democrat input. His comments came amid a partial government shutdown and growing partisan gridlock in the Senate.
When asked by host Chris Cuomo whether the filibuster — which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the Senate — should be eliminated, Jackson responded, “Absolutely. I could do away with that.” He added that the filibuster remains one of the few tools that checks executive power, but that it should not stand in the way of reopening the government.
Jackson criticized the current use of the filibuster, where Senate Democrats have blocked multiple Republican funding proposals despite GOP control of the White House and the House. With a razor-thin GOP majority in the Senate, Republicans are unable to pass legislation without at least some Democrat support.
“Think about this,” Jackson said. “The president signs every executive order, he overrides every court decision, he puts the military on U.S. grounds — like, whoever stops him to say anything? This is the only one thing.”
Jackson’s call to scrap the filibuster to allow a Republican-led funding package marks a rare moment of cross-party procedural agreement. While both parties have criticized the filibuster in the past when in the minority, Jackson’s suggestion would currently benefit the GOP, highlighting Democratic frustration over the shutdown and the standoff’s political optics.
The Senate has remained deadlocked as Democrats push for increased domestic spending and border protections with a pathway to citizenship, while Republicans demand strict immigration enforcement and cuts to non-defense programs. The standoff has already triggered a halt in federal services and pay for hundreds of thousands of government employees.
