President Donald Trump once again blamed Democrats for the ongoing U.S. government shutdown as it tied the record for the longest in American history at 35 days on Tuesday (November 4).

Trump shared a lengthy post on his Truth Social account claiming Republicans needed to terminate the filibuster in order to avoid defeat in next year's midterm elections as voters in Virginia, New Jersey and New York are set to vote on Election Day Tuesday.

"The Democrats are far more likely to win the Midterms, and the next Presidential Election, if we don’t do the Termination of the Filibuster (The Nuclear Option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to get Common Sense Policies done with these Crazed Democrat Lunatics being able to block everything by withholding their votes. FOR THREE YEARS, NOTHING WILL BE PASSED, AND REPUBLICANS WILL BE BLAMED," Trump wrote. "Elections, including the Midterms, will be rightfully brutal. If we do terminate the Filibuster, we will get EVERYTHING approved, like no Congress in History. We will have FAIR, FREE, and SAFE Elections, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everybody, Strong Borders, Major Tax and Energy Cuts, and will secure our Second Amendment, which the Democrats will also terminate, IMMEDIATELY. If we don’t do it, they are far more likely to do well in the upcoming Elections, which would mean a PACKED Supreme Court, 2 more States and 4 more Democrat Senators (D.C. and Puerto Rico), and 8 more Electoral Votes. Remember, Republicans, they are going to end the Filibuster as soon as they get the chance We know this because they already tried, and the only two people who didn’t go along are now out of office. But they have much less chance of WINNING if we have Great Policy Wins after Wins after Wins. IN FACT, THEY WILL LOSE BIG, AND FOR A VERY LONG TIME. TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER NOW, END THE RIDICULOUS SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATELY, AND THEN, MOST IMPORTANTLY, PASS EVERY WONDERFUL REPUBLICAN POLICY THAT WE HAVE DREAMT OF, FOR YEARS, BUT NEVER GOTTEN. WE WILL BE THE PARTY THAT CANNOT BE BEATEN - THE SMART PARTY!!!"

The ongoing U.S. government shutdown will likely break the 35-day record previously set during Trump's first administration as it's expected to continue into Wednesday (November 5). Trump had previously demanded that Senate Republicans use the "Nuclear Option" of getting rid of the filibuster to end the government shutdown on his Truth Social account last Thursday (October 30).

The filibuster is the Senate tactic to block legislation as 60 votes are needed for most to pass, with Republicans needing five more votes to pass their federal funding proposal backed by the president, despite having a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 219-213 majority in the House of Representatives. The government shutdown began on October 1 and is expected to be extended to at least 34 consecutive days after the Senate adjourned on Thursday and isn't scheduled to meet again until Monday (November 3), which would match the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Senate Republicans urged Democrats to support a stopgap funding measure through November 21, while Democrats demanded that negotiations on expiring federal tax credits, such as those helping Americans buy private health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, be extended during Thursday's meeting. The government shut down began after congressional Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a funding legislation and is estimated to potentially cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, according to Reuters.

“Just a short while ago, the Democrats, while in power, fought for three years to do this, but were unable to pull it off because of Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona,” Trump added in his Truth Social post, referring to a previous effort to end the filibuster tactic. “Never have the Democrats fought so hard to do something because they knew the tremendous strength that terminating the Filibuster would give them.”

Kathi Yeager