John Fetterman Signals Democrats Could Scrap Filibuster If They Reclaim Senate
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared to suggest that his party could nuke the filibuster rule in the Senate should they win back control of the upper chamber in a future election cycle. During a Fox News appearance on Sunday, he reminded a panel that his party ran on ditching the 60-vote rule to advance legislation as recently as a few years ago.
“I’d like to remind everybody that it wasn’t just a couple years ago every single Democrat, including myself – I campaigned on this…to remove the filibuster,” Fetterman said in response to a question about whether his Democratic colleagues still sought to do so.
“That was actually wrong – I was wrong for that, I would say that,” he continued. “Now, all of us love the filibuster, Democrats love the filibuster” because the rule gives his party power to disrupt the GOP majority’s agenda.
“I think it’s dangerous – real dangerous – to make the Senate essentially the same thing as the House and work as majority rules,” he said before repeating that his party, just a few years back, sought to dismantle the rule when they had the majority under President Biden.
At that time, two Democrats – Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Krysten Sinema of Arizona, both of whom are no longer in the chamber – opposed the rule change and drew the ire of their party.
Some took Fetterman’s response as a warning that, should his party regain a majority in the near future, Democrats will move on dismantling the filibuster – which President Trump has been pushing Republicans to do so they can pass the SAVE Act, which would require a voter ID to cast ballots in federal elections while severely curtailing mail-in voting.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Republican colleagues last week that the party does not currently have enough votes to advance a House-approved voting reform measure in the Senate by forcing Democrats to conduct a “talking filibuster.”
Thune’s comments came as Senate Republicans discussed the strategy during a closed-door lunch meeting. The proposal would require Democrats to continuously hold the Senate floor and debate the legislation to block it, potentially extending debate for days or weeks.
The legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, has been identified as a top priority by President Donald Trump, who raised the issue Monday during a policy meeting with House Republicans.
Speaking in Florida earlier that day, Trump said passage of the SAVE Act was important to Republican efforts to maintain control of Congress in the upcoming November elections. “It will guarantee the midterms. If you don’t get it, big trouble,” he said, per The Hill.
Democrats have argued that only a small number of cases involving immigrants in the country illegally voting in federal elections have been documented in recent years, and they falsely say available evidence does not support claims of widespread voter fraud.
At the same time, Trump has increased pressure on Senate Republican leaders to adopt the talking filibuster strategy to advance the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. Trump has also withheld an endorsement in the closely watched Republican Senate primary in Texas between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton.
Thune and other Republican leaders have encouraged Trump to back Cornyn, arguing that he may have a stronger chance of winning the general election. However, Trump has not yet announced his support for either candidate.
Asked about speculation that the White House may be delaying an endorsement because Trump disagrees with Senate Republicans over the talking filibuster approach, Thune acknowledged the possibility and said it was a concern.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s probably not a linkage that is in anybody’s best interest because voting on the SAVE America Act is something we can do but passage is not guaranteed,” Thune said, per The Hill. “You have to make political decisions independent of what the final disposition of that might be on the floor.”
Trump Dragged Into Epstein Scandal as Logs Come to Light
1. The "May Briefing" Revelation
New reports from March 25, 2026, indicate that Attorney General Pam Bondi privately informed President Trump as early as May 2025 that his name appeared in investigative documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Internal Briefings: The meeting reportedly included Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. While the White House characterizes this as a "routine briefing," the timing suggests it may have triggered the administration’s recent aggressive stance against the release of the files. 📑
Context of Mention: Being mentioned in the files does not inherently imply criminal wrongdoing. Trump’s former social ties to Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s are well-documented, but the refusal to disclose the nature of these mentions is fueling public speculation. ⚖️
Official Stance: White House spokesperson Steven Cheung maintains that Trump cut ties with Epstein decades ago at Mar-a-Lago, labeling him a "creep" long before the 2008 or 2019 charges. 🛡️
2. The Congressional "GOP Revolt"
In a significant break from party discipline, key Republican members of the House Oversight Committee have joined Democrats to demand transparency.
Subpoena Power: The committee voted 8-2 to subpoena the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Epstein files. High-profile MAGA Republicans, including Nancy Mace and Scott Perry, voted in favor, signaling a genuine desire for accountability within the base. 🏛️
Ghislaine Maxwell Testimony: The committee also moved to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell. Concerns have been raised regarding Todd Blanche’s planned meeting with her, as critics fear the potential use of presidential pardon power to influence her testimony. ⚖️
Public Perception: A March 2026 poll shows that only 40% of Republicans approve of how the President is handling the Epstein issue, while 36% disapprove, indicating a rare moment of vulnerability among his core supporters. 📉
3. The "Obama Distraction" Strategy
To counter the mounting Epstein headlines, the administration has revived a classic political tactic: targeting former President Barack Obama.
The Coup Allegation: Trump and Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard have accused the Obama administration of "manufacturing" intelligence regarding 2016 Russian election interference to stage a "coup" against Trump. 🛡️
Intelligence Consensus: Analysts note that Gabbard's claims contradict the 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report, which confirmed that Russia did interfere to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton. 📑
The Immunity Irony: Even as Trump calls for Obama’s prosecution, his own 2025 Supreme Court victory regarding presidential immunity would legally prevent his predecessor from being indicted for official acts. ⚖️
Dems on the Brink: High-Stakes SCOTUS Fight Could Reshape Congress
At least nineteen and perhaps more Democratic-held congressional districts could shift to Republican control depending on the outcome of a major redistricting case being reargued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The case, Louisiana v. Callais, examines whether the state’s move to create a second majority-black congressional district violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law and birthright citizenship, while the Fifteenth prohibits denying the right to vote on the basis of race.
Attorneys for the state argued on Wednesday the legislature was essentially given the choice – either create the second black-majority congressional district or the Justice Dept. would step in and do it.
The Court’s ruling could have sweeping implications for congressional maps nationwide, potentially reshaping the balance of power in the House of Representatives ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, Newsweek reported.
Louisiana’s congressional map was redrawn to include a second Black-majority district following lawsuits that claimed the previous map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by weakening the voting strength of black residents.
Phillip Callais and a group of non-black voters challenged the revised map, contending that it amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
The Supreme Court’s decision in the case is expected to have major implications for how legislatures across the country apply Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits redistricting plans that diminish minority voting power.
While the outcome remains uncertain, Democrats are expressing concern that the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority could side with Callais’ argument.
According to a report by the left-leaning nonprofits Fair Fight Action and the Black Voters Matter Fund, a ruling in favor of Callais could result in the redrawing of 19 Democratic-held congressional districts currently protected under the Voting Rights Act, potentially shifting them to favor Republican candidates.
President Donald Trump has signaled his intent to preserve Republican control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections and has indicated a willingness to urge state officials to pursue out-of-cycle redistricting efforts to help achieve that objective.
The following districts could be subject to redrawing if the Supreme Court moves to limit or overturn Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the city of Mobile and most of the Montgomery metropolitan area, is represented by Democrat Shomari Figures. A former attorney, Figures previously worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and later served as deputy chief of staff to former Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Black residents make up nearly 50 percent of the district’s estimated 703,362 population, forming a plurality, while white residents account for about 41 percent. The district has been held by a Democrat since January 2025, following its redrawing in 2024.
Alabama’s 7th Congressional District includes parts of the Birmingham, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa metropolitan areas, along with the entire city of Selma. Representative Terri Sewell, a Democrat, has served the district since 2011.
Of the district’s estimated 718,912 residents, more than 51 percent are Black and nearly 39 percent are white. The district has remained under Democratic representation since 1967, with no Republican having held the seat in nearly six decades.
Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District encompasses nearly all of New Orleans and stretches north toward Baton Rouge. Although it is currently considered safely Democratic, redistricting could turn the district into a competitive battleground.
Representative Troy Carter has held the seat since 2021. Before his election to Congress, Carter served as minority leader in the Louisiana State Senate and previously held positions on the New Orleans City Council and in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
The district’s estimated population of 736,254 is nearly 50 percent Black and about 33 percent white. A Republican last represented the district in 2011.
At the center of the Supreme Court case, Louisiana’s newly drawn 6th Congressional District spans from Shreveport in the northwest to areas near Baton Rouge in the southwest, Newsweek reported.
Representative Cleo Fields currently holds the seat, having previously served in Congress representing the 4th District from 1993 to 1997.
Black residents make up about 52 percent of the district’s estimated 753,643 population, while nearly 36 percent are white. The district was represented by a Republican as recently as January 2025.
