The prospects for Trump’s SAVE America Act grew murkier today as divisions deepened among Senate Republicans about how to pass it and whether it’s possible to overcome Democratic opposition.
Some say they’re convinced a “talking filibuster” under current rules could lead to passage of the sweeping election overhaul bill, even though it hasn’t worked before. Another GOP senator proposed a different path with less support. And the Senate’s top Republican emphasized that the path is “unclear” as the 60-vote rule may be too difficult to overcome.
“Having studied it and researched it pretty thoroughly, you have to show me how, in the end, it prevails and succeeds. Because I think what has been promised out there is that it would actually, in the end, get an outcome. And I find it very hard to see that based on actual past experience,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters. “We can’t find a piece of legislation in history that’s been passed that way.”
Meanwhile, Trump spoke to House Republicans in Florida and called for adding new provisions to the bill — which currently includes new voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements, along with screening voters through a Department of Homeland Security database — to largely prohibit mail-in voting, in addition to unrelated restrictions on transgender athletes and gender-affirming treatment for minors.
