Senate Majority leader John Thune says the SAVE America Act will get a vote, but won't get rid of the silent filibuster to pass it.

 

Senate Majority John Thune. Senate Photo.

Senate Majority leader John Thune says the SAVE America Act will get a vote, but he won't get rid of the silent filibuster to pass it. AP. The act would greatly tighten election security by requiring Voter ID, eliminating mail in voting and requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. It would also ban transgender surgery for minors and biological males participating in woman's sports. The bill is popular but is expected to fail as zero Democrats will vote for it and cannot pass without 60 votes. There has been a large push for the Senate to get rid of the "silent filibuster" which would force Democrats to actually speak to block the bill, which would most likely allow the bill to pass. Thune says there are not enough Republican votes to actually get rid of the silent filibuster rule. President Trump has vowed to not pass any new legislation (except funding for the Department of Homeland Security) until the SAVE America Act is passed.

My Comment:

This is just another example of how dysfunctional our Congress is. Voter ID is extremely popular and is supported by around 75 to 80% of voters. In a normal world 75 to 80% of the vote in the Senate would be voting for this too. But instead we can't even get 60 Senators to vote for this. 

I do understand why the Democrats are opposed to this. They absolutely hate the idea of voter security as they depend on voter fraud, mail in ballots and non-citizens voting in order to win. We don't know how bad this problem is, due in part because we simply don't have any national legislation like this. But I do think that cleaning the voting roles alone would be enough to secure the election for the Republicans in 2026. 

But for Thune and the other Republicans? I just don't get it. They claim that preserving the filibuster is more important than winning the 2026 elections. They don't seem to realize that the filibuster only exists because the Democrats still had a couple of moderates, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, back in 2022. Those two Senators saved it but if the Democrats ever gain control of the Senate again, they will almost certainly kill it. And if that happens Thune is going to look like an absolute idiot, especially if it happens in 2026 specifically because this bill didn't pass. 

The failure of the bill will likely have a demoralizing effect on Republicans. This is a hugely popular bill and passed in the House easily. To see the Senate do absolutely nothing to defend it even though it is extremely popular is bad enough. To see them not do it when it could win the Republicans the Senate, House and probably the presidency in 2028? Absolutely infuriating. And it could lead to folks simply staying home because they don't think they can win an election that isn't' fair. And to be sure, our elections without voter ID are not fair. 

Keep in mind that Thune has been extremely obstructive to the executive branch. His commitment to tradition is blocking recess appointments and supporting non-MAGA candidates in various Senate elections, most notably in Texas this year with John Cornyn over Ken Paxton. At this point it seems like enemy actions and it seems he cares more about the stupid filibuster and obscure Senate rules than actually fighting the Democrats and working to help America.