Senate Republicans are planning to put voter ID legislation President
Trump has been pressing Senate Republicans to pass the legislation, dubbed the SAVE America Act, even if it requires hard-line procedural steps like nuking the filibuster or forcing a talking filibuster to sidestep the chamber’s standard 60-vote threshold and overcome Democratic opposition.
Thune said Republicans don’t have the necessary votes to “proceed, get on a talking filibuster nor to sustain one if we got on it” — and that they’ve conveyed that to Trump.
“We’re going to have the fight on the floor. We’re going to vote on this, we’re going to put it up, and we’ll give the Democrats the opportunity to cast their vote on whether or not they think non-citizens ought to vote in American elections, so that debate will happen,” Thune said. “I can guarantee the debate, I can guarantee a vote, I just can’t guarantee an outcome.”
Thune has consistently cast doubt on using a talking filibuster, which would require senators to speak continuously on the floor to delay consideration of bills. He said earlier this week it’s “way more complicated” than many people believe, and would tie up the Senate floor for an extended period of time.
Republican senators said they discussed the legislation at their closed-door party lunch Tuesday. When asked about whether the vote would be a 60-vote threshold, Thune told reporters that it “depends a little bit on how we do it.”
“I don’t think we’re ready to nail that down just yet, but we made a lot of headway,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editor responsible for this story: