Overview
- On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used a Washington Post op-ed and an NBC Meet the Press interview to urge Republicans to abolish the Senate filibuster if Democrats prompt another shutdown at the Jan. 30 funding deadline.
- He labeled the 60-vote requirement a procedural fossil and argued Democrats exploited it during the recent 43-day shutdown, described as the longest in U.S. history in the coverage.
- Bessent cited estimates of economic harm from the shutdown, including a 1.5% hit to GDP and $11 billion in permanent losses.
- His position echoes President Donald Trump, who repeatedly pressed Republicans during the shutdown to scrap the filibuster.
- Senior Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson continue to defend the filibuster and say there are not enough GOP votes to eliminate it.