Senate Majority Leader John Thune said keeping lawmakers in Washington would not overcome Democratic opposition or persuade enough Republicans to eliminate the filibuster, leaving the SAVE America Act without a viable path to passage.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Senate Majority Leader John Thune rejected calls Monday to cancel the chamber’s August recess for a vote on the SAVE America Act, arguing that neither extended debate nor additional time in Washington would change the legislation’s underlying vote count.
President Donald Trump and several conservative senators have urged Thune, R-S.D., to keep the Senate in session until lawmakers advance the election legislation. Thune said the proposal remains blocked by the chamber’s 60-vote threshold and the lack of sufficient Republican support for changing Senate rules.
“We could stay here until Christmas and the Democrats aren’t voting for this and Republicans are not getting rid of the legislative filibuster,” Thune told reporters.
“Give me a rationale or a path to getting success.”
The SAVE America Act would establish voter identification and citizenship-verification requirements for federal elections. The bill has remained stalled in the Senate because supporters do not have the 60 votes ordinarily required to end debate and move legislation toward passage.
Trump called on Thune earlier Monday to postpone the summer recess until the Senate approves the bill. The president has also repeatedly urged Republican senators to abolish the legislative filibuster so the party can pass the election measure and other priorities without Democratic support.
Thune has declined to pursue that approach. He has also resisted proposals to dismiss the Senate parliamentarian or attempt to place voter identification provisions into a reconciliation package, a process generally reserved for legislation with direct budgetary effects.
The majority leader said Republican opposition to changing the chamber’s rules remains a decisive obstacle. He disclosed that he previously met with 20 GOP senators to discuss possible procedural changes and that 15 opposed such a move.
That internal resistance means Republicans currently lack the support needed to eliminate or significantly alter the filibuster, regardless of whether the Senate remains in session during August.
Thune said the circumstances could change if Trump persuades Republican holdouts to reverse their positions.
“Now, if [Trump] can change the facts and start moving some of those senators who are no’s into yeses, then we have a different conversation,” Thune said in a subsequent exchange, according to Semafor.
His comments place responsibility for any renewed effort on the White House and senators seeking a rules change. Without additional Republican votes or Democratic support for the bill, Thune said canceling recess would produce no different outcome.
The disagreement reflects a broader division within the Republican Party over whether preserving the filibuster is more important than using the party’s current majority to enact election legislation.
Trump and his conservative allies argue that Democrats would eliminate the rule when politically advantageous and that Republicans should act first. Thune and other senators have maintained that abolishing the filibuster could weaken the party when it is again in the minority and fundamentally change how the Senate operates.
The immediate dispute centers on whether senators should leave Washington for their scheduled August break. Supporters of the SAVE America Act say lawmakers should remain until the legislation receives a vote, while Thune contends that holding the Senate in session without a realistic route to passage would serve no practical purpose.
His remarks indicate that the recess schedule is unlikely to change unless Trump succeeds in shifting the position of Republican senators who currently oppose altering the filibuster.
Original article
Comments