President Donald Trump expressed disapproval towards Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune and “foolish” Republicans for failing to terminate the filibuster during an Oval Office press conference Tuesday.
Trump told the Daily Caller he was “disappointed” in Thune after repeatedly calling on the senator to eliminate the filibuster, enabling Republicans to pass their agenda with a simple majority instead of with the usual 60-vote threshold. Trump also criticized institutionalists like Thune for protecting the filibuster, noting that Democrats will likely terminate it the first chance they get.
Although Thune is the GOP leader in the Senate, Trump also pointed the finger at “a couple of Republicans” who have stood in the way of eliminating the filibuster. (RELATED: John Thune Asked Why GOP Lacks 51 Votes For Talking Filibuster On SAVE Act)
“I’m disappointed,” Trump told the Caller. “I like John a lot, but he has a couple of Republicans that are foolish people. A couple of them I like, a couple of them I can’t stand, actually, if you want to know the truth.”
.@reaganreese_ asked President Trump about the filibuster, and the president said, “I’m disappointed,” while calling for it to be eliminated to pass election reforms.
See his full response here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CXxHRs8Z5C
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 5, 2026
Trump expressed frustration with these senators, whose names he withheld, arguing that they are actively working against the MAGA agenda.
“Although I am at, according to CNN, 100 percent approval within the Republican party…” Trump told the Caller. “We should have the SAVE America Act. We should have voter identification, voter ID. We should have proof of citizenship. We should have mail-in-voting for the military and people that need it, but not for everybody because every time you have mail-in-voting, you have to cheat.”
“We shouldn’t allow them to cheat,” Trump added. “And we should terminate the filibuster because if [Democrats] get the chance, they’ll do it in the first hour back.” (RELATED: How Using Talking Filibuster For Trump’s SAVE Act May Be Minefield For GOP)
Thune has previously been pressed about the Senate’s failure to pass the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship and voter ID to register to vote. Despite massive support for the election integrity law from the administration and everyday Americans, Thune said he doesn’t have enough votes to pass the bill even with a simple majority.
“We don’t have the votes for it,” Thune said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. “And that’s, again, it’s a simple function of the math in the Senate. It would take even a talking filibuster. It would take 51 votes. We don’t have 51 votes for that in the United States Senate.”