NEW: Thune’s Massive Filibuster Decision Revealed

Senate Republicans aren’t budging on the filibuster — even after another push from former President Donald Trump.

Returning from the White House on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader John Thune made it clear that Trump’s lobbying to scrap the 60-vote rule isn’t going anywhere.

“I don’t doubt that he could have some sway with members,” Thune said. “But I know where the math is on this issue in the Senate, and … it’s just not happening.”

Thune, one of the Senate’s staunchest defenders of the filibuster, said there simply aren’t enough Republican votes to change the chamber’s rules — a stance echoed by several colleagues.

Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who joined Trump for breakfast at the White House after a rough election night for the GOP, admitted the former president “made a really good point” about ditching the rule but wasn’t convinced.

“I think there’s a lot of us that really think the Senate was designed in the first place to find a long term, stable solution to problems, so we’ll listen to what the president has to say,” Rounds said.

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he’s holding firm.

“My position hasn’t changed,” Kennedy said. “As I’ve said before, the role of a senator is not just to advance good ideas. The role of a senator is to kill bad ideas. And when you’re in the minority — we’re not now, but we could be someday — it’s important to have a filibuster.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis was even more blunt: “There’s nothing that could move me on the filibuster. I’ve been that way for 11 years. Too old to change now.”

Still, cracks are beginning to show.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, long a defender of the filibuster, said he’s now “open to changing” it.

He cited years of gridlock over government spending as a key factor. “The fact that we haven’t been able to do regular order appropriations for a while” and “having a willful minority being able to shut down the government at any time they want to,” Cornyn said, were pushing him to reconsider.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, too, said the latest shutdown was forcing him to rethink.

“My message is to my Democrat friends; we better find a way to get to the table real fast,” Hawley said. “Because if you’re putting me to a choice between, are people going to eat, or am I going to defend the arcane filibuster rules, I’m going to choose people eating. So, we’re getting there real fast.”

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