Senate Majority Leader John Thune says eliminating the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act is “not going to happen,” as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Republicans to advance the election security legislation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Monday that altering Senate rules to bypass the legislative filibuster is not an option for advancing the SAVE America Act, pushing back against mounting calls from President Donald Trump and election integrity advocates to prioritize the bill.
In comments reported by ABC News, Thune dismissed the idea of lowering the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to move the legislation forward.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Thune said when asked about changing the chamber’s rules to allow the measure to pass with a simple majority.
The dispute comes as Trump has increased pressure on Republican leadership to advance the SAVE America Act, legislation supporters say would strengthen election safeguards by requiring measures such as voter identification and proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Thune acknowledged Trump’s interest in the proposal but said Senate leadership cannot guarantee the bill’s passage.
“The president clearly is very interested in getting the SAVE America bill up and voted on, although he wants a modified version of it, and so we’ll do our best to do that,” Thune said. “But the one thing I’ve said all along is, and I’ve told him and others, that I can’t guarantee an outcome. I can’t guarantee a result. If the result is only achieved by nuking the legislative filibuster, we don’t have the votes to do that and so that’s not a — that’s just not a realistic option.”
Trump addressed the issue directly in a message posted Sunday on Truth Social, urging Congress to prioritize the bill and suggesting that senators could use a “talking filibuster” to force consideration.
“Great Job by hard working Scott Pressler on Fox & Friends talking about using the Filibuster, or Talking Filibuster, in order to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, an 88% issue with ALL VOTERS. It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE.
“I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed, AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION – GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. & PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY – ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!”
While Trump floated the idea of using a talking filibuster to pressure the Senate into action, Thune warned such a strategy could tie up the chamber for weeks.
“Our time in the Senate is a finite resource and it’s something that we need to use wisely and well to get as much done as we can,” he said, noting the process could turn into a prolonged legislative standoff.
The political clash intensified after remarks Thune made about the growing online campaign urging passage of the legislation. According to reporting by NBC News journalist Brennan Leach, the Senate leader suggested that much of the pressure was coming from what he described as a “paid influencer ecosystem.”
Leach summarized the exchange in a post on X, writing that when asked about the mounting pressure to pass the SAVE America Act, Thune responded:
“I asked Thune if he feels pressure to pass SAVE America Act mounting:
‘A lot of that is, it’s in that kind of, you know, paid influencer ecosystem,’ he said
Adds there’s support among GOP Sens, but ‘the process & how do you ultimately try & get a result is still unclear to me.’”
The exchange was shared publicly in a post by Leach on X on March 9.
The comments drew criticism from election integrity advocates and activists who have organized grassroots campaigns supporting the legislation.
One response circulating widely online came from commentator ALX, who posted on X questioning Thune’s characterization of public support for voter ID laws and the SAVE America Act.
“I just lost any respect I ever had for @LeaderJohnThune,” the post said. “He claims that the organic support behind Voter ID and the SAVE America Act is from ‘paid influencers.’ Are the polls showing overwhelming support from ‘paid influencers’ too? Do your job instead of betraying your voters.”
Another post from the same account asked whether Thune’s comments implied that Trump himself was part of the “paid influencer” ecosystem referenced in the remarks.
Election integrity activist Scott Pressler also responded publicly on X, rejecting the suggestion that his advocacy work is financially driven.
“Paid influencer system? I don’t receive a dime to do this work. It was after this interview with Fox News that President Trump put out a statement in support of my work & for the SAVE America Act. Telling millions of Americans that they are a ‘paid influencer ecosystem’ —” Pressler wrote in a post on X on March 9.
The debate over the SAVE America Act comes amid polling data cited by the administration indicating broad support for voter identification requirements and citizenship verification measures.
According to polling referenced by the White House, surveys show substantial public support for the SAVE America Act and related election security proposals.
Data from the Harvard-Harris poll cited by the administration found that 71 percent of respondents support the legislation, including 69 percent of independents and about half of Democratic voters.
Additional research referenced by the White House includes polling from the Pew Research Center and commentary shared on X by data analyst Harry Enten.
Polling from Gallup shows that 84 percent of Americans support voter ID requirements, while 83 percent favor requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
Other surveys referenced include findings from Rasmussen Reports, which have tracked support for voter ID laws over time, as well as polling conducted by Heritage Action across multiple battleground states.
Additional data cited by the administration includes surveys from Napolitan News Service and research compiled by The Center Square, both reporting broad support for voter identification policies.
With Senate leadership resisting rule changes and divisions remaining among Republican lawmakers about procedural strategy, the path forward for the SAVE America Act remains uncertain as debate over election security legislation continues in Congress.
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