Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) doubled down on his support for the Senate filibuster, even as President Trump has pushed the upper chamber to use the so-called “nuclear option” to forgo it and reopen the government with a simple majority vote.

At a press conference Monday, Johnson said he spoke to Trump “multiple times” over the weekend, adding, “and of course, the filibuster came up.”

“I understand desperate times call for desperate measures. I also understand that traditionally, we've seen that as an important safeguard,” Johnson told reporters, referring to the filibuster, which effectively requires 60 votes in the 100-seat chamber to pass most legislation.

If Senate leadership decided to use the “nuclear option” to carveout an exception to the filibuster, the upper chamber would only

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