A source familiar with the matter has confirmed to The Daily Signal that Senate Majority Leader John Thune will bring the SAVE America Act to a vote next week without moving forward with a talking filibuster.
The suspected vote was previously reported by Politico and the Washington Examiner.
“I can confirm, it looks like Thune is planning to bring it to a vote next week as a show vote,” the source told The Daily Signal. “Despite outrage from GOP voters and the specific request of the president, he is not planning on pursuing a standing filibuster or any other method to actually pass the bill.”
Conservatives who have been pushing Thune and Senate Republicans to go forward with the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act called out Thune for his refusal.
“Understand what Thune is doing right now. It’s not enough for him to kill the SAVE America Act. Thune has to kill it while also protecting his worst RINO colleagues from being exposed for opposing it,” wrote Federalist CEO Sean Davis.
“Thune needs to kill the SAVE America Act, not expose any of his GOP colleagues as being against it, and be able to pretend that he tried. This is the actual Senate GOP trifecta—doing nothing while pretending they tried everything and protecting the worst of the worst the whole time,” Davis added.
In a Tuesday morning press gaggle, Thune defended his decision by stating that if he were to invoke the talking filibuster, it could open the door for Democrats to have “unlimited debate” on the legislation’s amendments, possibly jeopardizing it.
“What people don’t realize, I think, is that it’s unlimited debate but it’s also unlimited amendments,” he said, as reported on by The Hill. “You have to have unified support not only in support of the ultimate goal, which is the SAVE America Act, but on the process to be able to defeat amendments that would undo the legislation in the first place.”
Some conservatives have pointed out, however, that Thune’s concern about Republican defectors could be overcome with the right pressure.
“What’s the point of doing a show vote on Save America set at 60 votes and designed to fail?” Clint Brown, former executive director of the Senate Steering Committee, told The Daily Signal. “Instead, force the talking filibuster. If it fails, then work on persuading senators and try again. Not trying is worse than failure. Be the little engine that could, not the one that pretended to try, gave up, and went on vacation.”
On X, Brown explained what Thune means when the majority leader claims “the math doesn’t add up.”
“Thune says the math doesn’t add up for talking filibuster,” Brown posted on X. “The whip check makes sure it doesn’t.”
The “no” votes, Brown claimed, are Republicans who will not commit to tabling every amendment offered because there “might be some tough votes.”
“But they will table. They won’t want to endure hours of Democrat speeches. So, of course they’ll table the amendments,” Brown added.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act.
On Monday, the president told a crowd of Republicans gathered at his golf resort in Doral, Florida, that passing the election integrity measure would “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans.
“Maybe it’s going to be the talking filibuster like the old days,” Trump said. “But they have to get it done.”
“If you don’t get it, big trouble, my opinion,” the president added.
Trump has also posted about passing the SAVE America Act using the talking filibuster multiple times on his Truth Social account.
“Great Job by hard working Scott Pressler on Fox & Friends talking about using the Filibuster, or Talking Filibuster, in order to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, an 88% issue with ALL VOTERS,” Trump wrote on Sunday in response to Presler’s Fox News appearance.
“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE,” the post continued. “I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed.”
