• Louisiana Republican explains tense phone call with president over Senate rules during CNN interview
• Kennedy joins growing list of GOP senators opposing elimination of 60-vote threshold despite Trump’s demands
• Government shutdown enters fourth week as SNAP benefits face suspension affecting 42 million Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — John Kennedy, a Republican senator from Louisiana, revealed he directly challenged President Donald Trump during a phone call about ending the Senate’s filibuster rule, telling the president that a senator’s job includes stopping “bad ideas.”

Speaking to reporters including CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday, Kennedy described the conversation that took place before Trump’s recent trip to Asia. The president had called to persuade Kennedy to support eliminating the filibuster, which currently requires 60 votes to pass most legislation in the Senate.

Senate’s stance on the nuclear option

“He called me, I explained to him, I said, Mr. President, the job of a senator is not just to advance good ideas. The job of the senator is also to kill bad ideas,” Kennedy said, according to footage aired on CNN’s Early Start.

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Kennedy indicated Trump was not pleased with the response but did not raise his voice. “Well, like you would expect,” Kennedy said when asked about Trump’s reaction. “Well, he wasn’t unhappy. I mean, the president didn’t yell or anything. Of course, he’s never yelled at me. There’s always a first time, you know, but he doesn’t agree with me.”

The Louisiana senator’s pushback reflects broader resistance within the Republican caucus to Trump’s demands. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has maintained his opposition remains “unchanged,” according to his spokesperson Ryan Wrasse.

Shutdown politics intensify pressure

The debate over the filibuster comes as the government shutdown extends into its fourth week, with no clear end in sight. Trump has repeatedly called for Republicans to deploy the “nuclear option” to pass a continuing resolution that would reopen the federal government using only a simple majority.

Without the filibuster, Republicans could pass legislation with just 51 votes in their 53-seat majority. Trump argued on Truth Social that eliminating the rule would “IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying ‘SHUT DOWN.'”

“I doubt we’re not going to change the filibuster or the blue slip while we’re in charge during your or my natural lifetime.”

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Yet Kennedy’s assessment appears accurate. At least a dozen GOP senators have publicly opposed changing the rules, far more than the three votes Republicans could afford to lose. Freshman Senator John Curtis of Utah posted on social media platform X that he remained a “firm no” on eliminating the filibuster.

Growing consequences of the impasse

House Speaker Mike Johnson offered cautious support for maintaining the filibuster, warning that Democrats would use its elimination to pack the Supreme Court, grant statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., and ban firearms when they return to power.

The standoff has real consequences for millions of Americans. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits affecting approximately 42 million people faced suspension on November 1, though federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have since ordered the Trump administration to continue funding the program using contingency reserves.

Kennedy’s willingness to defy Trump on this issue demonstrates the limits of presidential influence over Senate procedures, even within the president’s own party. As the shutdown continues, the senator’s prediction about the filibuster’s staying power appears increasingly likely.

Should senators prioritize party loyalty or institutional preservation when their president demands major rule changes?

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