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Trump calls for an end to filibustering as the longest shutdown in history drags on

The U.S. president Donald Trump again asked Republican senators on Wednesday to terminate the filibuster in an attempt to end the longest government shut down in history. This would be a radical departure from long-standing Senate traditions and make it easier to push through legislation by the majority.

"We must open the country." We're going do it today by ending the filibuster," Trump said to the senators gathered in the White House for breakfast.

"It is possible that you won't do it, and I will follow your wishes." "You're smart people and good friends but I think this is a terrible mistake," Trump said. It would be a terrible mistake. Actually, it's time."

Filibustering is a Senate rule that requires 60 out of 100 senators to agree on a majority vote in order to pass legislation. The Senate is dominated by Republicans, with a majority of 53 to 47. In the House of Representatives the Republicans have a majority of 219 to 213.

Trump has previously called for the elimination of the filibuster, but Republican legislators have been reluctant, partly because Democrats would cease to adhere to the rule once they gained a majority.

Trump downplayed concerns about the Democrats taking power during the Wednesday meeting. He said that if Republicans can maintain power if the Senate does away with the filibuster and rams through legislation he believes is popular, they will do so by eliminating the filibuster.

Trump said that the government shutdown is impacting on the stock market as well as airline companies and SNAP food assistance for low-income Americans.

He blamed Republican defeats in Tuesday's elections in various parts of the country in part on the shutdown of the federal government, which he claimed had not affected Democrats as he believed it should.

The shutdown has now lasted 36 days. This is a record, surpassing the 35-day mark set by Trump during his first term from 2017-2021. Reporting by Jeff Mason, Gram Slattery and Colleen Jenkins; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Colleen Nomiyama

(source: Reuters)