President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday regarding the delayed SAVE America Act, as the White House indicated that the president’s “patience is dwindling” amidst Republican leaders’ challenges to push the contentious voting legislation forward before the August recess.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump aims to see “as much of the SAVE America (Act) passed as possible” prior to senators departing Washington, referencing comments made by the president at a Georgia rally on Wednesday.
“The president addressed this issue directly yesterday; his patience is dwindling,” Leavitt remarked during a briefing at the White House on Thursday.
The SAVE America Act mandates verification of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, for voter registration in federal elections. Additionally, it proposes measures to eliminate noncitizens from federal voter registration lists.
Detractors of the legislation argue that it could impede voting access by introducing unnecessary barriers that would complicate voter registration and potentially disenfranchise legitimate voters.
At the rally in Georgia on Wednesday, Trump criticized the Senate as “a place where you send things you want to fail” and urged his supporters to pressure Thune.
“Everyone should contact John Thune. He leads the Republican Party, and tell him to get this approved,” Trump stated.
Thune responded to the White House’s remarks, asserting that the bill does not have the necessary votes to navigate through the Senate and advised the administration to concentrate on persuading lawmakers.
“Instead of casting blame on Republicans, they could focus on those obstructing it on the floor, which are the Democrats,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday. “If there are Republicans they believe can be convinced, then let’s reach out to them. Let’s secure their support.”
Thune has consistently indicated that the SAVE America Act lacks adequate backing to pass in the Senate. This proposal would require Democratic votes to achieve the 60 necessary to overcome a filibuster.
An alternative approach could involve lawmakers voting to abolish the legislative filibuster for this specific bill, which could be accomplished with 50 GOP votes, yet a majority of the conference is against this action.
Thune told USdaily’s Manu Raju that he maintains “fairly regular” communication with Trump, despite the president’s expressed frustrations, adding, “For me, it’s more on an as-needed basis.”
The interaction underscored the increasing tensions between the White House and Senate Republicans regarding the legislation, although GOP senators expressed support for Thune’s leadership.
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana stated that there has been no discussion within the conference about replacing the majority leader, affirming that Thune continues to have significant backing from Senate Republicans.
“That’s not something we’re currently discussing. I haven’t heard anyone mention it,” Kennedy remarked.
Kennedy acknowledged both Trump’s and Leavitt’s frustrations regarding the bill’s stagnation but contended that Thune should not be blamed for its current status.
“I have seen no signs that Senator Thune opposes the SAVE Act — to be more clear, John Thune supports the SAVE Act, although some members do not,” Kennedy clarified.
“That’s the reason we have votes, and we’ve voted four or five times, but the results have been lacking. I’m ready to vote again and attempt to advance it through reconciliation, but again, we cannot do that unless it’s brought up,” he added.
