Thune eyes marathon sessions to ease MAGA anger over SAVE Act
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune during a news conference Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is exploring an open-ended debate on the SAVE America Act that could run a week or longer, forcing Democrats to publicly defend their opposition to the bill, according to senators and aides.
Why it matters: Working through nights is on the table (beginning early next week). Passing the bill with a 50-vote threshold is not.
- It's a gambit by Thune to let off some of the MAGA steam over an issue President Trump and his supporters say is central to democracy: requiring ID and proof of citizenship to vote.
- "The idea is to get it to the floor and discuss it and debate the merits of getting this done," said Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.). "Right now, it doesn't appear that we have the votes to pass the bill."
State of play: Thune, who is getting blasted by Trump and the online right, is in a pickle.
- He doesn't have the votes to change Senate filibuster rules and lower the threshold to a simple majority.
- But he also doesn't have the ability, apparently, to convince Trump that the numbers aren't there.
- Earlier Wednesday, Trump called on Thune "to be a leader," with the clear implication that he isn't acting like one.
What we're hearing: For now, Thune does have the sympathy of his GOP colleagues.
- "All of the members in our caucus know that this is an impossible spot for Thune, and no one blames him for it," said one GOP senator. "Except for maybe Mike Lee."
The intrigue: The president peeled off one prominent Republican senator Wendesday.
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), seeking Trump's endorsement in his brutal primary runoff, announced that he would support "whatever changes to Senate rules may prove necessary" to pass the SAVE Act.
Zoom in: The emerging plan, discussed at length at Tuesday's GOP lunch, is to allow amendments to the SAVE Act incorporating changes that the president suggested Monday night at House Republicans' policy retreat.
- Trump called for new rules on mail-in voting, as well as two unrelated provisions on transgender minors and transgender athletes.
- "There will be an opportunity to introduce and debate amendments, and at some point, we will vote. The exact sequence is yet to be decided," said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the bill's sponsor.
Zoom out: Looming over the SAVE Act debate is the long-simmering fight over Senate rules — specifically, the requirement to secure 60 votes to pass most legislation outside of budget bills.
- Senators like Thune have jealously guarded the 60-vote threshold. Trump and many in the MAGA base see that commitment as antiquated — and naïve.
The bottom line: The Senate GOP conference seems stuck. Cornyn's reversal didn't open the floodgates.
- "I understand why Senator Cornyn may be open to it, but nobody has given me any credible scenario where we would succeed in the end," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
- "The only thing I think we could succeed at is providing a lot of fodder for Democrats in this year's election."
