Despite pressure from President Donald Trump and the more than 90% of Republicans who support the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has declined to pursue either of the two paths that could potentially carry this bill across the finish line.
The SAVE America Act would require voters to present proof of citizenship when they register to vote and a photo ID at the ballot box. Regardless of party affiliation, roughly 80% of the electorate supports this legislation.
The fastest way to pass this measure would be to eliminate the filibuster, but there is nowhere near enough support among Senate Republicans to take that step. Democrats tried to abolish the filibuster the last time they controlled the Senate, but the effort collapsed after Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) refused to go along. They will almost certainly try again the next time they control the levers of power.
Nevertheless, Republicans appear close to having enough votes to force a talking filibuster. Doing so would require Senate GOP leaders to persuade a handful of reluctant lawmakers to fall in line. After all, isn’t that the purpose of having whips in Congress?
The SAVE Act’s passage is so important to Trump that on Sunday, he declared he would not sign any other legislation until it passes. Given the stakes, it is hardly unreasonable to expect party leaders to pull out all the stops to secure its passage.
Yet Thune seems content to allow the bill to fail without making a determined push to pass it.
Fox News reported on Thursday that Thune intends to bring the bill to the floor next week — without even trying to force a talking filibuster.
“We don’t have the votes either to proceed, get on a talking filibuster, nor to sustain one if we got on it,” Thune said. “But that is just a function of math, and there isn’t anything I can do about that. I mean, I understand the president’s got a passion to see this issue addressed, as we all do.”
A strong leader would try to change the math.
While a talking filibuster would be a cumbersome process that could tie up the Senate for weeks, it would ultimately allow the bill to pass with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes normally required.
What could be more important than the integrity of our elections — ensuring that voters are who they say they are and that noncitizens are prevented from voting? Nothing.
According to Fox:
Thune has time and again warned that the votes aren’t there among Republicans to block Democratic amendments that could completely reshape the bill.Still, Trump and a sphere of online conservative voices are demanding that the bill pass at any cost. Trump warned that if it does not, Republicans will fall flat in the upcoming midterm election cycle.”It will guarantee the midterms. If you don’t get it, big trouble,” Trump told House Republicans at their annual policy retreat earlier this week.
With the exception of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Democrats oppose the bill, arguing that it will make it more difficult for people to cast a vote. That is just code for ‘it will make it harder for us to cheat in elections.’
IDs are required for everything we do in modern America.
Even Democrats know there are times when identification is necessary. Last month, for example, anti-ICE agitators in Minneapolis demanded that drivers show identification before they were “allowed” to proceed through the makeshift traffic blockades they erected on city streets. Yes, the same activists who have so fiercely opposed voter ID requirements at the ballot box demanded IDs from passersby.
Likewise, Democratic politicians and candidates require supporters to show ID before allowing them into townhalls or campaign events.
Thune pointed out in his floor speech that photo IDs are required to take out a library book.
This is arguably the single most important piece of domestic legislation to come before Congress this year. It is imperative that Thune deploy every available tool to pass this bill, or he doesn’t deserve his position of leadership.
If we don’t have secure elections, we don’t have a country. It really is as simple as that.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY