Chuck Grassley

Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says he still supports the Senate filibuster, even as President Donald Trump increasingly is pressuring Republicans to eliminate the procedure to pass a GOP election bill.

"If you like bipartisanship, the only way you get it is when one party doesn't have at least 60 votes in the United States Senate," Grassley said of the filibuster during a Wednesday, July 29, press call. "It forces bipartisanship, and it was meant to work that way by the people that wrote the Constitution because they wanted to make sure that there was consistency and predictability in economic policies."

Grassley's reaffirmed support for the chamber's 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation comes as Trump has exhorted Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the Senate in session and not allow lawmakers to break for summer recess until Senate Republicans pass the SAVE America Act.

Thune has said he doesn't have the votes to overcome a filibuster to pass the measure.

Without the filibuster, Republicans would have an easier path to passing their legislative priorities with a simple majority in a chamber they control 53-47. But some Republicans, including Grassley, are holding back on doing away with the procedure.

During the press call, Grassley told reporters the filibuster helps maintain balance as Senate control shifts between the two major parties, ensuring there is not "radical change" every two years when all seats are up for election in the U.S. House.

Grassley has been a staunch backer of the filibuster, most recently during the Biden administration when he criticized Democrats for attempting to strip the procedure in an effort to pass voting rights legislation.

However, in 2017, he voted to strike down the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, arguing partisan filibusters should not be used to confirm justices.

While talking to reporters, Grassley pointed to a recent Washington Post column by Democratic Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman to highlight what he sees as bipartisan support for filibusters.

In the column, Fetterman, who campaigned on eliminating the filibuster in his 2022 Senate race to ensure passage of progressive legislation, backtracked, saying both his and the broader Democratic Party's stance on the issue was "horribly wrong."

"After serving three and a half years in the United States Senate, he (Fetterman) has come to the conclusion that the filibuster rule forces bipartisanship," Grassley said. "And that's the way the Senate was intended to work and is working. And it's very good."