WASHINGTON: Republican US President Donald Trump called on Thursday for the removal of the Senate’s filibuster rule, to bypass a Democratic roadblock during a government shutdown now in its 30th day.
The filibuster is the Senate rule for agreement by 60 of its 100 members to pass most legislation. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 219-213 majority in the House of Representatives.
“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 on social media.
There was no end in sight on Thursday to the partial shutdown, as Senate Republicans urged Democrats to support a stopgap funding measure through November 21 while the latter demanded negotiations to extend expiring federal tax credits.
Such credits help Americans buy private health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
The shutdown began on October 1, the first day of the 2026 federal fiscal year, because congressional Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on legislation to fund government services.
The shutdown could cost the US economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, shaving up to 2 percent from gross domestic product in the fourth quarter due to the lapse in government spending, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday.
“Well, now WE are in power, and if we did what we should be doing, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying ‘SHUT DOWN,’” Trump posted on Thursday.
About 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed since government funding ended. The Trump administration has taken steps to pay troops, federal law enforcement and immigration officers, but other federal employees are working without pay.
Trump calls for US Senate to scrap filibuster rule as government shutdown reaches 30th day
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Trump calls for US Senate to scrap filibuster rule as government shutdown reaches 30th day
- The president wants to bypass a Democratic roadblock as the shutdown seems far from being resolved
- The filibuster is the Senate rule for agreement by 60 of its 100 members to pass most legislation
Greek coast guard search for 15 after migrant boat found adrift
- The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water
ATHENS: Greek coast guard were on Monday searching for 15 people who fell into the water from a migrant boat that was found drifting off the coast of Crete with 17 bodies on board.
The 17 fatalities, all of them men, were discovered on Saturday on the craft, which was taking on water and partially deflated, some 26 nautical miles (48 kilometers) southwest of the island.
Post-mortem examinations were being carried out to determine how they died but Greek public television channel ERT suggested they may have suffered from hypothermia or dehydration.
A Greek coast guard spokeswoman told AFP that two survivors reported that “15 people fell in the water” after the motor cut out on Thursday, then the vessel drifted for two days.
At the time, Crete and much of the rest of Greece was battered by heavy rain and storms.
The two survivors reported that the vessel had become unstable due to bad weather and there was no means of getting shelter, food or water.
The vessel had 34 people on board and had left the Libyan port of Tobruk on Wednesday, the Greek port authorities said. Most of those who died came from Sudan and Egypt.
It was initially spotted by a Turkish-flagged cargo ship on Saturday, triggering a search that included ships and aircraft from the Greek coast guard and the European Union border agency Frontex.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the European Union. But the Mediterranean crossing is perilous.
In Brussels, the EU’s 27 members on Monday backed a significant tightening of immigration policy, including the concept of returning failed asylum-seekers to “return hubs” outside the bloc.
The UN refugee agency said more than 16,770 asylum seekers in the EU have arrived on Crete since the start of the year — more than any other island in the Aegean Sea.
Greece’s conservative government has also toughened its migration policy, suspending asylum claims for three months, particularly those coming to Crete from Libya.
