Maine Gov. Janet Mills echoes Trump, GOP in calling for filibuster reforms

One of President Donald Trump’s top Democratic adversaries running for the Senate is taking a page from his playbook with conservatives in their area to reverse the filibuster.

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is running to replace Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released her policy platform in recent days. Among the few places going to voters is an invitation to reform the filibuster.

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

The filibuster has become a flashpoint in the Senate, especially for Republicans, as its current 60-vote threshold requires legislation to be bipartisan in nature. And Mills’ position, which has been supported by Democrats in the past, is one Trump and others in the GOP want to pass a major election integrity bill.

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His desire to change the filibuster is in line with what Trump and conservatives, in Congress and online, have called for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., to introduce a filibuster to pass the SAVE America (SAVE) America Act.

“Washington is broke, and the people of Maine are paying for it,” Mills said in a statement announcing the forum. “Donald Trump and Washington Republicans are undermining our basic rights and driving up spending, all while Congress fails to address the biggest issues facing Maine people. Enough is enough. Maine people deserve better than what DC is giving them.”

Mills and Trump have a controversial relationship that reached a critical stage in 2025 when, during a meeting of governors at the White House, he said, “We’ll see you in court,” over the president’s order to deny funding to states that allow transgender athletes to participate in sports.

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Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump have a strained relationship that is reaching a critical stage in 2025. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

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

“Janet Mills speaks loudly: When she goes to Washington, she will use every tool at her disposal to push her anti-Trump agenda to the American people,” NRSC spokeswoman Samantha Cantrell told Fox News Digital.

Trump has called on Republicans to go ahead and do away with the filibuster altogether — an unlikely move in the Senate, given the lack of support for ending the filibuster in its current form.

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Senator Graham Platner of Maine, left, and Gov. Janet Mills, who has served two terms, is facing a charge of qualifying for the Democratic Senate in the state. (Sophie Park/Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

A speaking filibuster, as Mills suggested, would require senators to speak on a bill rather than revert to the usual 60-vote threshold.

The Senate is currently conducting a filibuster version of the GOP’s attempt to make light of Senate Democrats’ refusal to support the SAVE America Act. But it won’t lead to legislation because the GOP isn’t united to block Democratic amendments that would dramatically change the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., who picked Mills to run in Maine against Collins, called the law “Jim Crow 2.0” and rallied his caucus after the measure was defeated.

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Before Mills gets a chance to face Collins, he will first have to survive an uphill battle against Graham Platner, an oyster farmer backed by Schumer’s left wing.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mills, Platner and Collins for comment, but they did not respond for publication.