FROM WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) on Monday became the latest Republican to flirt with invoking the “nuclear option” to end the gridlock in the Senate that has catapulted the government into one of the longest shutdowns in history.
Congressional Republican leaders have thus far steadfastly opposed applying the rarely used legislative maneuver as a workaround to Democratic opposition to the GOP-backed continuing resolution seeking to open the government. But patience is growing thin among some rank-and-file Republican members as the shutdown stretches into the third week, with lawmakers such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) eyeing the tactic as a way to end the gridlock.
The nuclear option would do away with the Senate’s filibuster rule, which promotes a bipartisan approach that checks majority power and undergirds the process by which most legislation is passed. Under the rule, legislation, including the continuing resolution Republicans want to pass to open the government, requires the support of 60 senators to advance. Otherwise, opposition members or lawmakers in the minority can continue to place a filibuster hold on bills, as has been the case for the CR.
“We need to be taking a look at the 60-vote threshold. I mean, we really do,” Roy told reporters. “At a minimum, why don’t we take a look at it for CRs? … Look, I mean, we have a 50-vote threshold for the budget. We have a 50-vote threshold for reconciliation. Why shouldn’t we have a 50-vote threshold to be able to fund the government if the majority of people want to do that?”
The House Freedom Caucus member is the latest major GOP lawmaker to push leadership toward using the nuclear option.
Senate Democrats blocked the measure for the 11th time in a vote Monday evening. They want Republicans to attach Obamacare extensions to the “clean” CR, keeping the government funded at current levels.
The Senate needs to consider the “nuclear option” to end the Democrats’ government shutdown, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Monday… Read More at https://t.co/dS9FPT2Qry pic.twitter.com/EZOzFOPw0S
— CPAC (@CPAC) October 20, 2025
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