After a bruising election night that left Republicans reeling, Donald Trump reportedly lashed out at GOP senators during a tense private breakfast Wednesday morning, warning that the party would become a “dead party” if they refused to scrap the Senate filibuster. What was supposed to be a postmortem quickly devolved into an uneasy confrontation as Trump’s frustration spilled over in front of an uncomfortably quiet room.
Attendees described the meeting as “uncomfortable” and “eerily silent” as the president pressed senators to take immediate action. Trump admitted the ongoing government shutdown was “worse for us than for them,” a rare acknowledgment that the political fallout was hitting Republicans harder than Democrats.
“It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do — and that’s terminate the filibuster,” Trump said. “I think it’s very important. We have to get the country open, and the way we’re going to do it this afternoon is to terminate the filibuster. And it’s possible you’re not going to do that, and I’m going to go by your wishes. You’re very smart people, we’re good friends. But I think it’s a tremendous mistake. Really. It would be a tragic mistake. Actually, it’s time.”
The remarks came less than twelve hours after Republicans suffered a string of election defeats that many in the party blamed on the shutdown and voter frustration with gridlock in Washington. Trump, usually quick to project confidence, appeared shaken. “The shutdown was a bigger factor, negative, for the Republicans, and that was a big factor,” he conceded privately.
Behind closed doors, Trump’s agitation reportedly turned to threats. One attendee said his anger was palpable. “He will call them at three o’clock in the morning. He will blow them up in their districts. He will call them un-American. He will call them old creatures of a dying institution. Believe you me, he’s going to make their lives just hell,” the person told Axios.
By the time the meeting ended, senators were left uneasy and unmoved. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) quickly poured cold water on Trump’s push to end the filibuster. “I know where the votes are,” Thune told reporters afterward. “The answer is, there aren’t the votes.”
The exchange underscored just how deep the divisions have grown between Trump and Senate Republicans. For many, the filibuster represents stability and restraint; for Trump, it’s a shackle that keeps him from bulldozing through opposition and proving he’s in charge. His demand to end it — and his willingness to browbeat his own party to make it happen — marked another sign of his growing desperation to reassert control amid mounting political losses.
What lingered after the meeting wasn’t just the policy debate but the atmosphere. Senators described an almost palpable discomfort as Trump’s panic gave way to anger as he warned that without drastic change, Republicans would “get killed” for being “do-nothing Republicans.”
Watch the clip below:
BREAKING: Trump just said that if Republicans get rid of the filibuster Democrats won’t gain power.
It seems to me like he’s trying to claim that he wants to be king. Surprise surprise. pic.twitter.com/yKwwIihajx
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) November 5, 2025
