Trump and US elections latest: 'Only way' to end shutdown is so-called 'nuclear option', president says

More now from the Republicans speaking to the media outside Congress, alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Lisa McClain, the House Republican conference chair, hailed the achievements of Trump's first year back in the White House, saying: "Promises made, promises kept...there's a lot more to come folks." 

Like her colleagues, she too sought to blame the government shutdown on the Democrats, saying her political rivals had done nothing but block and "obstruct". 

And McClain joined the attacks on New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of being a "communist". 

Trump 'going to help' Republicans in 2026 elections

Johnson himself, while answering questions from journalists, dismissed defeats in Virginia, New Jersey and New York for Republican candidates last night.

He insisted the midterm elections next year would go better for the Republican Party.

Johnson said Democrats would try to impeach Trump if they made gains in Congress in 2026.

"The president needs four years to complete his agenda, not just two," Johnson said. 

"He's going to help," Johnson added of Trump.

"President Trump is on the ballot in 2026 and we're looking forward to that contest," he said.

Trump himself said last night Republicans did badly because he wasn't on the ballot this time, and because of the ongoing government shutdown.

It's a busy day in US politics with the fallout from elections and the ongoing government shutdown, but it's also a year on from Donald Trump's election victory over Kamala Harris.

He's posted on Truth Social to celebrate the occasion...

Outside Congress, Republicans are putting the blame on the Democrats for the US government shutdown.

Donald Trump's party appears to be seeking to take back control of the political argument - as recent polling shows the Democrats are edging the debate about which party is to blame for it.

The results of a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released late last week showed more than four in 10 US adults - 45% - say Trump and the GOP are mostly to blame - while 33%  of respondents blamed Democrats.

'You'll see mass cancellations'

One of the Republican members of Congress has just mentioned the stark warning from US transportation secretary Sean Duffy if the shutdown continues for another week.

Duffy said this week that there could be "mass chaos" that causes him to close off national airspace to air traffic.

"If you bring us to a week from today, you will see mass chaos, you will see mass flight delays," he said at a press conference.

"You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it."

Disruption already spreading due to government chaos

It comes as flight delays continue at US airports amid air traffic controller shortages, with Newark airport in New Jersey experiencing delays of two to three hours.

New York City's Emergency Management office said that Newark delays often ripple out to the region's other airports and that travellers flying to, from or through New York "should expect schedule changes, gate holds, and missed connections". 

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O'Hare were also seeing dozens of delays and one or two cancellations, along with major airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Miami, according to the FlightAware website.

It's just gone 10am in New York, where people are buying newspapers after Zohran Mamdani's victory in the mayoral election.

Here's a look at some of the headlines...

We've been telling you about how Zohran Mamdani's win in the New York mayoral election is Donald Trump's "worst nightmare" (see 5.24 post).

So it probably won't come as a surprise that a senior aide has told CNN the US president is yet to congratulate the Democratic mayor-elect or his team.

The aide also said that Andrew Cuomo, who was running as an independent candidate, didn't call Mamdani to formally concede as candidates often do.

Cuomo did, however, congratulate Mamdani during his concession speech, and also urged the crowd not to boo as he mentioned Mamdani's name.

We're expecting to hear from Mamdani again at 4pm UK time this afternoon, and we'll bring you updates here on this live page.

You can also read analysis from our US correspondent James Matthews on what his win means for Trump below.

More on the filibuster rule now (which we told you about in our previous post), and Donald Trump's calls to end it.

"It's time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that's terminate the filibuster. It's the only way you can do it," he said during a breakfast with Republican senators (see 13.29 post).

The most straightforward way to do this would be to formally change the text of Senate Rule 22, which, as it stands, requires 60 votes to end debates on most legislation - but that's unlikely.

A resolution to change the Senate's standing rules requires the support of two-thirds of the members present and voting.

Republicans have a majority in the Senate with 53 seats, but the Democrats have 45 seats. 

There are also two independents who caucus with Democrats.

What is the so-called 'nuclear option'?

There are other options, with one involving the creation of a new Senate precedent.

In certain circumstances, these can be approved with just a simple majority of senators.

But both Republicans and Democrats have tended to back off from taking this so-called "nuclear option" - as it would mean Congress's power as a check on the governing party would be greatly diminished.

The precedents exist alongside formal rules to provide insight into how and when Senate rules have been applied in particular ways, according to The Brookings Institution.

This approach to curtailing the filibuster is formally known as "reform by ruling" but is more colloquially referred to as the "nuclear option".

For those less in tune with US politics and its finer details, you might be confused by the continued references to the "filibuster" rule.

Donald Trump has just told Republican Senators at the White House now is the time to abolish it, in order to end the record US government shutdown (seeour 13.29 post).

Here we explain what the filibuster is, and why it matters...

The Senate tradition of unlimited debate has allowed for the use of the filibuster, a tactic used to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending.

Simply put, speakers have the chance to take to the podium and not come down (if they do, their speech is over), taking up the space and meaning nobody can vote on bills during the speech.

Some reports suggest the longest individual filibuster in US Senate history was an effort by Democratic senator Cory Booker in May this year. 

He spoke for 25 hours and four minutes, though his speech was a broader critique of the Trump agenda as opposed to an attempt to halt the advance of specific legislation.

Most officials recognise the longest filibuster as being Strom Thurmond's 24-hour and 18-minute-long speech in 1957 against a civil rights bill.

Members of Congress from both political parties have long expressed concerns that scrapping the filibuster rule would erode a key safeguard for the minority party.

Donald Trump says removing it will allow Republicans to "get all of our common sense policies improved" and suggests the Democrats would do the same "as soon as they get the chance".

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (a Republican) recently said his opposition to doing that remains "unchanged", despite Trump's wishes.

Donald Trump suggests the government shutdown was a negative factor for the Republicans in last night's elections.

He says the elections were "very democratic", and weren't "good for Republicans".

"But we had, an interesting evening and we learned a lot," he says.

The president chose to speak mainly about the government shutdown, largely ignoring last night's gains by the Democrats.

Donald Trump is speaking at the White House ahead of a breakfast for Republican senators.

He speaks about the ongoing US government shutdown and - not for the first time - blames the Democrats for keeping it frozen.

"They'll take down the country if they have to," he says, adding that the shutdown is hitting people's food benefits, airlines and the stock market.

"It's time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that's terminate the filibuster. It's the only way you can do it," he adds.

The elections in a few US states have certainly made headlines across America this morning, but the real bellwether test for Donald Trump's second term will come next year.

The US midterm elections are held every four years, at the halfway point of a presidential term. The next elections are on 3 November 2026.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for election, along with 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, meaning there's plenty at stake for Trump and the Republicans who currently hold both the House and Senate.

Were they to lose both chambers to the Democrats, they would be able to stymie Trump's ability to pass legislation for the final two years of his presidency.