Senate Republicans kick off dayslong debate on SAVE America Act
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
The Senate will spend the next several days sparring over President Donald Trump’s marquee election bill after Republicans voted to jump-start debate and bring the SAVE America Act to the floor.
All Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), voted against the election bill, which requires voter ID at the polls and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. But Republicans, who have a three-seat majority, were still able to advance the measure 51-48 on Tuesday.
Vice President JD Vance was on hand to cast a tiebreaker in case two other Republicans defected, but a second wild card, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), voted “yes,” and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a centrist opposed to the legislation, was absent for the vote.
Republicans can now launch into what is expected to be a week or more of floor speeches meant to draw a contrast with Democrats. The legislation will not ultimately pass after that period of debate due to the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes on the next procedural hurdle, but Republicans are treating the floor time as an elaborate messaging exercise meant to placate Trump’s demand that it reach his desk.
On Tuesday morning, Trump warned that he would not endorse any Republican who opposes the SAVE America Act and previously vowed not to sign bills into law until it passes.
WHAT TO EXPECT AS SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH SAVE AMERICA ACT DEBATE
Conservatives had asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to dust off an old-school version of the filibuster that forces Democrats to hold the floor and speak if they want to prevent a bill from passing at a simple 50 votes.
Instead, Thune decided to pursue a hybrid approach that emulates a talking filibuster without actually sidestepping the 60-vote threshold. He promised a “fulsome debate” on the SAVE America Act on Tuesday morning but reiterated that there was not enough support among Senate Republicans to meet Trump’s request.
In recent days, Tillis had declined to co-sponsor the bill over concerns about weakening the 60-vote filibuster. Murkowski told reporters Tuesday that she supports it in principle but worried about the difficulty of implementing proof-of-citizenship requirements in a rural state such as Alaska.
“I’m not prepared to go down this uncertain and ill-defined path that we’re looking at,” Murkowski said.
McConnell, despite voting yes on debating the measure, has previously argued that the legislation lays the “groundwork for a left=wing election …
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
The Senate will spend the next several days sparring over President Donald Trump’s marquee election bill after Republicans voted to jump-start debate and bring the SAVE America Act to the floor.
All Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), voted against the election bill, which requires voter ID at the polls and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. But Republicans, who have a three-seat majority, were still able to advance the measure 51-48 on Tuesday.
Vice President JD Vance was on hand to cast a tiebreaker in case two other Republicans defected, but a second wild card, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), voted “yes,” and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a centrist opposed to the legislation, was absent for the vote.
Republicans can now launch into what is expected to be a week or more of floor speeches meant to draw a contrast with Democrats. The legislation will not ultimately pass after that period of debate due to the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes on the next procedural hurdle, but Republicans are treating the floor time as an elaborate messaging exercise meant to placate Trump’s demand that it reach his desk.
On Tuesday morning, Trump warned that he would not endorse any Republican who opposes the SAVE America Act and previously vowed not to sign bills into law until it passes.
WHAT TO EXPECT AS SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH SAVE AMERICA ACT DEBATE
Conservatives had asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to dust off an old-school version of the filibuster that forces Democrats to hold the floor and speak if they want to prevent a bill from passing at a simple 50 votes.
Instead, Thune decided to pursue a hybrid approach that emulates a talking filibuster without actually sidestepping the 60-vote threshold. He promised a “fulsome debate” on the SAVE America Act on Tuesday morning but reiterated that there was not enough support among Senate Republicans to meet Trump’s request.
In recent days, Tillis had declined to co-sponsor the bill over concerns about weakening the 60-vote filibuster. Murkowski told reporters Tuesday that she supports it in principle but worried about the difficulty of implementing proof-of-citizenship requirements in a rural state such as Alaska.
“I’m not prepared to go down this uncertain and ill-defined path that we’re looking at,” Murkowski said.
McConnell, despite voting yes on debating the measure, has previously argued that the legislation lays the “groundwork for a left=wing election …
Senate Republicans kick off dayslong debate on SAVE America Act
Transparency shouldn't be controversial.
The Senate will spend the next several days sparring over President Donald Trump’s marquee election bill after Republicans voted to jump-start debate and bring the SAVE America Act to the floor.
All Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), voted against the election bill, which requires voter ID at the polls and proof of citizenship when registering to vote. But Republicans, who have a three-seat majority, were still able to advance the measure 51-48 on Tuesday.
Vice President JD Vance was on hand to cast a tiebreaker in case two other Republicans defected, but a second wild card, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), voted “yes,” and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a centrist opposed to the legislation, was absent for the vote.
Republicans can now launch into what is expected to be a week or more of floor speeches meant to draw a contrast with Democrats. The legislation will not ultimately pass after that period of debate due to the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes on the next procedural hurdle, but Republicans are treating the floor time as an elaborate messaging exercise meant to placate Trump’s demand that it reach his desk.
On Tuesday morning, Trump warned that he would not endorse any Republican who opposes the SAVE America Act and previously vowed not to sign bills into law until it passes.
WHAT TO EXPECT AS SENATE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH SAVE AMERICA ACT DEBATE
Conservatives had asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to dust off an old-school version of the filibuster that forces Democrats to hold the floor and speak if they want to prevent a bill from passing at a simple 50 votes.
Instead, Thune decided to pursue a hybrid approach that emulates a talking filibuster without actually sidestepping the 60-vote threshold. He promised a “fulsome debate” on the SAVE America Act on Tuesday morning but reiterated that there was not enough support among Senate Republicans to meet Trump’s request.
In recent days, Tillis had declined to co-sponsor the bill over concerns about weakening the 60-vote filibuster. Murkowski told reporters Tuesday that she supports it in principle but worried about the difficulty of implementing proof-of-citizenship requirements in a rural state such as Alaska.
“I’m not prepared to go down this uncertain and ill-defined path that we’re looking at,” Murkowski said.
McConnell, despite voting yes on debating the measure, has previously argued that the legislation lays the “groundwork for a left=wing election …
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