Sen. James Lankford is splitting from President Trump on the filibuster, saying it is good for America because it forces both sides to talk to each other.
Mr. Trump has pushed for Senate Republicans to kill the filibuster to end the government shutdown, despite rebukes from within his own party. Mr. Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who frequently sides with Mr. Trump, told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that it would be a mistake to eliminate it.
“We should not get rid of the filibuster. The filibuster has been a core in the United States Senate since the 1800s. Now there’s been different forms of it over the year[s],” Mr. Lankford said.
“The current form that we’re living under was actually done in 1975. But what’s unique about the filibuster and about the United States Senate, it’s the only place in our government where both sides have to talk to each other. That’s a good thing for America,” he added.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly called for Senate Republicans to terminate the filibuster, a longstanding Senate rule that requires 60 votes to pass legislation. The current Senate is split 53-47 with a GOP majority, but Democrats have enough votes to keep the government closed.
“I am totally in favor of terminating the filibuster, and we would be back to work within 10 minutes after that vote took place,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday. “It doesn’t make any sense that a Republican would not want to do that.”
Mr. Trump says eliminating the filibuster would allow his party to pass legislation to enact his agenda at a much faster pace without it being thwarted by Democrats. However, Republicans on Capitol Hill say that Democrats would then use it to pass sweeping legislation if they retake the Senate.
Mr. Lankford predicted that the shutdown will end by Thanksgiving.
When asked on “Meet the Press’ if the government will reopen by Thanksgiving, Mr. Lankford responded, “Oh yes.”
“I do, and it absolutely needs to — and needs to be open today, if we can get it open. So we put out a proposal literally 14 times to say, ‘Let’s open it today, let’s keep negotiating,” the senator said.
The government shutdown has dragged on for 40 days.
