Trump: Nuke the Filibuster, Pass the CR

Around the country, air flights are facing 2-3 hour delays because air traffic controllers aren't being paid.

The heads of United and Delta demanded the Democrats pass the clean CR.

Delta and United Airlines are demanding that Democrats stop holding the government hostage and vote for the clean continuing resolution Republicans already passed, warning that the standoff is punishing federal workers and starting to rattle the economy. Speaking to reporters Thursday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby praised air traffic controllers, TSA agents, and FAA staff for keeping flights running under crushing pressure but said Democrats' inaction is pushing them to the brink. "They've minimized delays. Fewer than two percent of flights have been delayed so far because of air traffic control shortage," Kirby said. "They've done a great job, but it's putting stress on people. It's not fair to those people. It's also putting stress on the economy." Now at Day 30, Kirby said, the Democrat-led shutdown is beginning to show real economic fallout. "The first couple of weeks had no impact on the economy, but as every day goes by, the impacts start to grow," he said. "Airlines are a pretty good real-time indicator of the economy, and we're starting to see minor but steep booking impact. We put the whole economy at risk."

Kirby said he has no interest in Democrats' attempts to spin the fight into a healthcare debate, calling instead for Congress to "pass a clean CR" and hash out policy differences "behind closed doors, without putting American workers and the economy at risk." Delta issued a similar demand, urging lawmakers to "immediately pass a clean continuing resolution," adding that "missed paychecks only increase the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure."

The CBO estimates that the Democrats have already succeeded in shaving $14 billion out of the US economy due to the chaos they've caused.

Trump now says: Nuke the filibuster, and pass the CR with a simple majority.

President Trump is done letting Democrats hold the government hostage. On Thursday, he called on Senate Republicans to "play their Trump card" and invoke the nuclear option -- scrapping the filibuster and ending the month-long shutdown with a simple majority vote.

"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!" Trump wrote in a fiery Truth Social post after returning from a five-day swing through Asia. He said world leaders kept asking how "the Democrats SHUT DOWN the United States of America" and why Republicans allowed it to happen.

"Majority Leader John Thune, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, are doing a GREAT job," Trump said, "but the Democrats are Crazed Lunatics that have lost all sense of WISDOM and REALITY." He blamed the standoff on a "sick form" of Trump Derangement Syndrome -- the obsession, he argued, that's driving Democrats to damage the country rather than give his administration a win.

As expected, Thune is refusing to nuke the filibuster, because he believes, naively and insanely, that the Democrats will not themselves end the filibuster the moment it becomes useful for them to do so.

Politico:

Republicans are quickly tamping down President Donald Trump's call to eliminate the Senate filibuster as they try to keep pressure on Democrats to end the 31-day government shutdown.

GOP leaders believed Thursday they were on track to reopen agencies as soon as next week. Then Trump threw a fresh complication into their laps overnight when he revived calls for Republicans to invoke the "nuclear option" and eliminate the 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation. Without it, Republican senators could reopen the government on their own.

But many GOP senators have vocally defended the filibuster, including Majority Leader John Thune, calling the 60-vote rule a fundamental feature of the Senate and one that works to conservatives' benefit in the long run.

Thune has defended the filibuster multiple times during the shutdown, calling it a "bad idea" to suggest eliminating it. "The 60-vote threshold has protected this country," he said earlier this month.

The Democrats have eliminated the use of the filibuster every single time the Republicans used it to block them. Republicans used it to block federal court nominations; Harry Reid nuked it.

It's crazy to think the Democrats would ever allow Republicans to pull their own shutdown stunt in the future. The GOP is always being taught lessons, but never, ever learns.

It might not matter. Sources say that Democrats plan on ending the stupid shutdown after election day. So shutting down the government is officially, admittedly just a base-stoking electioneering stunt.

Stephen Neukam @stephen_neukam

NEWS -- There's a sense within the Senate Democratic caucus that next week will bring significant movement toward ending the government shutdown, multiple sources told Axios.

Likely after election day on Tuesday. Lawmakers have made progress on talks around packaging approps bills with a CR.

The major sticking point remains around ACA subsidies.

Dems know it's incredibly unlikely any extension passes the House.
Working group and a floor vote on ACA extension are potential offramps.

Some unrelated matters:

A Mexican senator says Trump esta dijando la verdad.

A prominent Mexican lawmaker has delivered a stunning rebuke of her country's leadership, agreeing with President Trump's long-standing claim that Mexico is effectively controlled by drug cartels. In a video message posted this week, Mexican Senator Lily Téllez declared, "He is not lying -- it's the truth, and the people of Mexico know it."

Téllez, a leading member of the opposition National Action Party (PAN), said that Trump's assessment "doesn't shame us as good, honest Mexicans -- it exposes the corrupt ruling class of MORENA," the leftist party led by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his successor, President Claudia Sheinbaum. "Claudia, you don't represent the Mexican people," Téllez said bluntly. "You represent the MORENA Cartel. You lack any dignity."

The senator accused López Obrador and Sheinbaum of colluding with powerful drug syndicates to secure political power and then allowing them to expand their grip on the nation. "The cartel problem didn't begin with MORENA, but under them, it has exploded," she said. "They surrendered national sovereignty and absolute power to organized crime."

F*** you, f****t.

Lumpy Jack is making all the decisions:

Lumpy Jack and John Fetterman are on Fox tomorrow night with Lara Trump.

posted by Ace at 03:20 PM

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