Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans still don’t have the votes to blow up the filibuster and force President Donald Trump’s election bill through the Senate, despite a fresh public demand from the president.
“The votes are not there to do it,” Thune told Sean Hannity on Monday night.
Trump had called on Thune earlier Monday to keep senators in Washington until they pass the SAVE America Act. He also urged Republicans to “terminate” the legislative filibuster, which requires most bills to clear a 60-vote threshold.
Republicans control the Senate 53-47. That leaves Thune well short of the votes needed to pass the bill without Democratic support.
“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Fox News.
The SAVE America Act would impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration and stricter identification rules for federal elections. Democrats oppose the measure, arguing it could make voting harder for eligible Americans who lack ready access to the required documents.
Thune told Hannity that Republicans have already forced senators to go on record over pieces of the election fight.
“We voted on photo ID and citizenship to register,” Thune said during the six-minute Fox News interview.
“We had five different votes on it already,” he added.
That hasn’t produced a path to final passage. A budget reconciliation bill could carry some related provisions with a simple majority, Thune said, but not the entire package.
Trump and conservative lawmakers have also pressed Thune to stage a “talking filibuster,” forcing Democrats to hold the Senate floor and speak for hours to block the bill.
Thune warned that the strategy would give Democrats time to offer politically loaded amendments and force Republicans into a long string of uncomfortable votes. With 47 Democrats able to consume two hours apiece, he noted, the process could produce 94 hours of speeches before other delaying tactics even entered the picture.
Still, Thune said Republicans plan to keep looking for another route.
Watch the clip above.
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