Trump won’t quit the filibuster fight. Thune can’t give him what he wants.

President Donald Trump isn’t dropping his quest to eliminate the filibuster. That’s going to get complicated for Senate Republicans in an election year.

The president’s fixation with undoing the Senate precedent in order to get out of legislative jams such as another government funding battle could test the good working relationship he has enjoyed with the Senate GOP.

“I know this has been an important priority for the president, but I think he has too many people telling him that this is achievable when it doesn’t strike me as achievable,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said in an interview. “I don’t think we’re close to having the votes, just to be candid.”

Last month, Senate Republicans and Majority Leader John Thune swiftly rejected Trump’s demands to repeal the filibuster to end the record-long government shutdown. But Trump’s continuing crusade promises to be a thorn in Thune’s side, acting as a vise around rank-and-file members who don’t want to get on Trump’s bad side or find themselves pressured by their right flank to embrace repeal.

There is little reason to think the filibuster is going away soon as the rule has strong support among many Republicans. Despite Trump's insistence, so far less than a quarter of the Senate GOP has signaled they are open to ending or modifying the filibuster, which has a 60-vote threshold. But Trump’s effort this year successfully moved a small number of Republicans in his direction.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said during the shutdown that Trump is right to want to eliminate the filibuster, reversing his stance on the issue, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he is open to nixing Senate traditions as he faces a three-way primary.

Congress will have to fund the government to avoid another shutdown on Jan. 30 and lawmakers of both parties are eager to address spiking health costs. Congress will also likely have to tackle early next year finishing the farm bill, renewing key government surveillance powers and potentially addressing a permitting overhaul.

When asked if Trump will continue his push into next year, a White House official referred to his Truth Social post on Monday whenhe warned that Democrats want to pack the Supreme Court “unless we TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, which will lead to an easy WIN of the Midterms, and an even easier WIN in the Presidential Election of 2028.”

The fight has become a defining test of Thune's leadership, trying to navigate a president demanding change his caucus has no appetite for.

“I think the biggest thing is going to be the filibuster fight,” said a person close to the White House, granted anonymity to discuss dynamics. “Every Republican prior to two months ago has been adamantly against getting right of the filibuster and because Trump wants to get rid of the filibuster, John Thune either has to swallow another red pill or wean himself off.”

Republicans in the upper chamber gave Trump plenty of wins this year, from approving his Cabinet to enacting the GOP megabill. The filibuster divide appears to be one that the president can live with.

He recognized last month that the senators who immediately ruled out his idea to do away with the rule were “very smart people” worth listening to and has consistently praised Thune.

“They both clearly understand each other's position on it,” said a person close to Senate leadership. “This isn’t a relationship dealbreaker.”

In the president’s first term, Trump pleaded for then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to end the filibuster. McConnellsquashed the ask, also pointing to the lack of votes.

“There could be continued pressure from Trump on the filibuster, or to fire the parliamentarian if there is a second reconciliation bill. But I don’t see Thune capitulating on either,” said a former McConnell leadership aide, granted anonymity on sensitive topics.

Several rank-and-file Republicans who have overwhelmingly voted with the White House are unwilling to give Trump’s filibuster demand much time of day.

“I don’t know to what extent the president is going to continue to be insistent about getting rid of the filibuster, but I think regardless of how you feel about the merits, or lack thereof, it’s a moot issue. We’re just not going to get rid of the filibuster,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).

Trump has paid little regard to Senate rules in order to move his agenda quickly. So far, Thune and the majority of Senate Republicans have shut down the president’s demands in his first year back in office.

Trump allies in the Senate called for the firing of the chamber’s parliamentarian — the nonpartisan official who determines whether bills can pass through the Senate’s reconciliation rules — during the debate on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” in June. Thune refused to overrule her nor fire her and may have another fight on his hands because the White House hassuggested reconciliation could be used for a health care bill.

Trump and his allies argue the filibuster must go because Democrats will immediately eliminate it when a candidate of their party is elected so Republicans should enjoy the benefits of governing without it while they can.

Trump has “talked to all of us about” the filibuster, said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).

“If [Democrats] could prove to me that they would not bust the filibuster when they take over, whenever, which they eventually will, I’d say, ‘Okay, let’s stay where we’re at.’ I just got a feeling, just listening to all of them talk, it’s just a matter of time that they’re going to vote and get rid of it whenever they take over the majority next time,” Tuberville said. “And then, we’ll have huge problems.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who also supports nixing the filibuster, explained the move as a way to get more done for voters ahead of the critical 2026 midterms.

Trump is “the one who’s right now pushing Congress to act. This is what the discussion of the filibuster is about. It’s him saying, ‘You guys need to do stuff.’ And he’s right. We need to deliver more,” he said.