Trump voter ID push faces Senate test as GOP rebels threaten to sink bill
This is performative politics again.
Senate Republicans are gearing up for a floor fight this week over doomed Trump-backed voter ID legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to launch the GOP’s floor strategy for the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act on Tuesday afternoon.
It won’t be done through the talking filibuster, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and a fervent ecosystem of conservative influencers to do so. That’s because there is not enough support among Republicans to follow through with the move.
SENATE GOP EYES BLAME GAME AS TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT HEADS FOR DEFEAT
"It's about the math," Thune said. "And I'm, for better or worse, the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here. And so we'll continue to convey that. And I think that we're going to have the fight on the floor. We’re going to vote on this."
Republicans' plan is to put Senate Democrats on record for voting down the bill. And Senate Democrats are primed to oblige.
"Democrats will not let Donald Trump ram this bill through the Senate. Not this week, not ever," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on a call with reporters over the weekend. "And Democrats are going to make sure the American people have their chance to deliver their verdict at the elections this fall."
Part of the issue among Republicans, outside the staggering amount of floor time it would take up, is that the GOP isn't unified to block Democratic amendments that could drastically alter the bill if they went the route of the talking filibuster.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is one of the key voices pushing for the SAVE America Act in the Senate, acknowledged that Republicans "don’t have the votes for the talking filibuster right now."
"We just got to, you know, we got to look at every way we can try to pass it," Scott said.
GOP REACHES KEY 50-VOTE THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL AS SENATE FIGHT LOOMS
Still, the first procedural step on Tuesday will take a simple majority but may still need an assist from Vice President JD Vance to break a tie.
And throughout the process, which could stretch over several days, there will be a handful of key lawmakers to watch in both chambers.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declared last week that he wouldn’t support the SAVE America Act, and that he planned to "do everything I can to prevent it from even moving forward."
How that could play out during the lengthy floor battle remains to be seen.
Still, Tillis’ objection to the bill is notable, given Republicans’ thin margin for error in the upper chamber.
He would …
This is performative politics again.
Senate Republicans are gearing up for a floor fight this week over doomed Trump-backed voter ID legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to launch the GOP’s floor strategy for the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act on Tuesday afternoon.
It won’t be done through the talking filibuster, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and a fervent ecosystem of conservative influencers to do so. That’s because there is not enough support among Republicans to follow through with the move.
SENATE GOP EYES BLAME GAME AS TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT HEADS FOR DEFEAT
"It's about the math," Thune said. "And I'm, for better or worse, the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here. And so we'll continue to convey that. And I think that we're going to have the fight on the floor. We’re going to vote on this."
Republicans' plan is to put Senate Democrats on record for voting down the bill. And Senate Democrats are primed to oblige.
"Democrats will not let Donald Trump ram this bill through the Senate. Not this week, not ever," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on a call with reporters over the weekend. "And Democrats are going to make sure the American people have their chance to deliver their verdict at the elections this fall."
Part of the issue among Republicans, outside the staggering amount of floor time it would take up, is that the GOP isn't unified to block Democratic amendments that could drastically alter the bill if they went the route of the talking filibuster.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is one of the key voices pushing for the SAVE America Act in the Senate, acknowledged that Republicans "don’t have the votes for the talking filibuster right now."
"We just got to, you know, we got to look at every way we can try to pass it," Scott said.
GOP REACHES KEY 50-VOTE THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL AS SENATE FIGHT LOOMS
Still, the first procedural step on Tuesday will take a simple majority but may still need an assist from Vice President JD Vance to break a tie.
And throughout the process, which could stretch over several days, there will be a handful of key lawmakers to watch in both chambers.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declared last week that he wouldn’t support the SAVE America Act, and that he planned to "do everything I can to prevent it from even moving forward."
How that could play out during the lengthy floor battle remains to be seen.
Still, Tillis’ objection to the bill is notable, given Republicans’ thin margin for error in the upper chamber.
He would …
Trump voter ID push faces Senate test as GOP rebels threaten to sink bill
This is performative politics again.
Senate Republicans are gearing up for a floor fight this week over doomed Trump-backed voter ID legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to launch the GOP’s floor strategy for the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act on Tuesday afternoon.
It won’t be done through the talking filibuster, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and a fervent ecosystem of conservative influencers to do so. That’s because there is not enough support among Republicans to follow through with the move.
SENATE GOP EYES BLAME GAME AS TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT HEADS FOR DEFEAT
"It's about the math," Thune said. "And I'm, for better or worse, the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here. And so we'll continue to convey that. And I think that we're going to have the fight on the floor. We’re going to vote on this."
Republicans' plan is to put Senate Democrats on record for voting down the bill. And Senate Democrats are primed to oblige.
"Democrats will not let Donald Trump ram this bill through the Senate. Not this week, not ever," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on a call with reporters over the weekend. "And Democrats are going to make sure the American people have their chance to deliver their verdict at the elections this fall."
Part of the issue among Republicans, outside the staggering amount of floor time it would take up, is that the GOP isn't unified to block Democratic amendments that could drastically alter the bill if they went the route of the talking filibuster.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is one of the key voices pushing for the SAVE America Act in the Senate, acknowledged that Republicans "don’t have the votes for the talking filibuster right now."
"We just got to, you know, we got to look at every way we can try to pass it," Scott said.
GOP REACHES KEY 50-VOTE THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL AS SENATE FIGHT LOOMS
Still, the first procedural step on Tuesday will take a simple majority but may still need an assist from Vice President JD Vance to break a tie.
And throughout the process, which could stretch over several days, there will be a handful of key lawmakers to watch in both chambers.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declared last week that he wouldn’t support the SAVE America Act, and that he planned to "do everything I can to prevent it from even moving forward."
How that could play out during the lengthy floor battle remains to be seen.
Still, Tillis’ objection to the bill is notable, given Republicans’ thin margin for error in the upper chamber.
He would …
