Trump adversary running for Senate borrows his filibuster playbook

One of President Donald Trump’s top Democratic foes running for the Senate is taking a page from his and conservatives’ playbook in their pitch to reform the filibuster.

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is running to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released her policy platform in recent days. Among several pitches to voters is a call to reform the filibuster. 

Mills, if elected, said in the 19-page document that she would require “Senators to remain on the Senate floor and actually speak, rather than simply threatening a filibuster to delay action.”

The filibuster has become a flashpoint in the Senate, particularly for Republicans, given that its current 60-vote threshold requires legislation to be bipartisan in nature. And Mills’ position, which has been previously supported by Democrats, is one Trump and some in the GOP are pushing for to pass a massive election integrity bill.

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Her desire to change the filibuster echoes one made by Trump and conservatives, both in Congress and online, that have demanded Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., launch a talking filibuster to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

“Washington is broken, and Maine people are paying the price,” Mills said in a statement introducing the platform. “Donald Trump and Washington Republicans are undermining our fundamental rights and driving up costs, all while Congress fails to solve the big problems facing Maine people. Enough is enough. Maine people deserve better than what D.C. is giving them.”

Mills and Trump have an adversarial relationship that reached a chaotic crescendo in 2025 when, during a meeting of governors at the White House, she declared, “We’ll see you in court,” over the president’s executive order to deny federal funding to states that allowed transgender athletes to participate in sports.

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The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s main campaign arm, warned that Mills’ desired change to the filibuster was a dog whistle for Democrats’ plan to slow-walk Trump’s agenda.

“Janet Mills is saying the quiet part out loud: If she goes to Washington, she will use every tool at her disposal to push her radical anti-Trump agenda on Americans,” NRSC spokesperson Samantha Cantrell told Fox News Digital.

Trump has asked Republicans to go a step further and nuke the filibuster altogether — an unlikely scenario in the Senate, given the lack of support to do away with the guardrail in its current form.

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A talking filibuster, as Mills suggested, would require senators to debate a bill rather than falling back on the typical 60-vote threshold.

The Senate is currently doing a version of the talking filibuster in the GOP’s bid to shine a light on Senate Democrats’ refusal to support the SAVE America Act. But it won’t lead to the legislation passing because the GOP isn’t unified to block Democratic amendments that could drastically alter the bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who handpicked Mills to run in Maine against Collins, has dubbed the legislation “Jim Crow 2.0” and rallied his caucus behind defeating the measure.

Before Mills has a chance to square off against Collins, she’ll first have to survive a tough primary battle against insurgent candidate Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who has the backing of Schumer’s left flank.

Fox News Digital reached out for comment from Mills, Platner and Collins, but did not hear back by publication.