Trump's SAVE Act obsession ties Senate in knots

Driving the news: Trump dropped a bombshell Truth Social post early Wednesday declaring he wouldn't allow the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to be renewed until the SAVE America Act passes as well.

• It came as the Senate was moving to fast-track a plan to revive the lapsed federal surveillance powers.
• The move means that Bill Pulte, a Trump bulldog with no national security or intelligence experience, will likely take the helm as acting director of national intelligence on Friday.
• Senators had been eager to prevent that by quickly confirming Trump nominee Jay Clayton — the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York — in the intelligence job.
• Now it's anyone's guess when FISA, which lapsed June 12, will be renewed.

Zoom in: Trump keeps searching for new leverage to force the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, despite repeated warnings that the votes aren't there. This year he has:

• Repeatedly demanded that the Senate kill or circumvent the filibuster in order to get it through.
• Vowed not to reopen the Department of Homeland Security barring its passage.
• Announced a legislative blockade, saying he wouldn't sign any other bills until the SAVE America Act was approved.
• Demanded Republicans include the act in a broader reconciliation package, despite Senate rules that likely prevent it.

Trump also has loaded the SAVE America Act with proposals that don't have anything to do with voting policies, including a ban on transgender women playing in women's sports and restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for minors.

Zoom out: Trump's relentlessness has put Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) in the impossible position of trying to placate the president without any realistic way of satisfying his demands.

• "There are no easy ways to do this. Believe me, we've examined all the options," Thune said in March.
• On Wednesday, Thune told Punchbowl News that his relationship with Trump is "fine."
• "The president has his own mind, makes his own decisions," he said. "So do we."

The latest: Senate Intelligence chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) postponed a Wednesday confirmation hearing for Clayton at Trump's behest.

• "It's regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today," said Cotton, a close ally of Trump.

The backstory: The SAVE America Act would require Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship — such as a passport or birth certificate — when registering to vote in federal elections.

• Supporters say the measure would prevent noncitizens from voting and strengthen election integrity. (Noncitizens already are banned from voting in federal elections under a 1996 law passed by Congress.)
• Critics argue Trump's proposal could make voter registration harder for potentially millions of eligible Americans, including some married women whose legal names don't match the names on their birth certificates.

The other side: White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that the SAVE America Act has always been a top priority for Trump and that he looks forward to working with Thune and Senate Republicans to get it approved.

• "This is commonsense legislation supported by the vast majority of Americans that will secure our elections for generations to come," she wrote.

The bottom line: Trump thinks the SAVE America Act can be willed into law. Thune has the cold reality of Senate math to contend with.