U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) holds his weekly press conference following the Republican caucus policy luncheon at Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 13, 2025.REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump has been complaining that unless Republicans pass legislation to drastically restrict voting rights, they will lose in November.
Writing for MS NOW, Kevin Frey and Jack Fitzpatrick explained that the election overhaul bill known as the SAVE Act, would turn voting into a disaster, particularly for married women and the elderly. Things could be even worse for any military members stationed overseas and who may not have access to the documents necessary to cast a ballot, much less be able to get a photo I.D. that would be acceptable under the requirements in the law.
Currently, only five states indicate citizenship on the "Real ID." About 51 percent of Americans have a valid U.S. passport, USA Today reported. To vote, the name on the passport must match the name on the voter registration. The bill would also end "no excuse" mail-in voting. Several states prioritize mail elections over in-person voting.
All of the new rules would make it more difficult to vote in a year when Republicans aren't all that excited about it, which could be a shot in the foot. Last month's Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll showed that only about half of the Trump 2024 voters say they are guaranteed to vote. By contrast, 77 percent of Kamala Harris voters intend to vote. Any barriers to voting could easily turn reluctant voters into non-voters.
"Trump has also threatened to refuse to sign any other legislation until the bill passes. But rather than building momentum, the president’s pressure campaign has exposed deep divisions among Republicans over whether to upend the Senate’s rules to force the bill through," the report said.
The bill will likely fail, coming short of the 60-vote threshold required to end any filibuster. So, Trump has demanded that Republicans kill the filibuster. It's something that Republicans have been resistant to doing, thus far. But the GOP is still pressing.
The only solution the Senate GOP can come up with is a slate of floor speeches where members can talk as long as they want about the measure. Democrats, who generally support all Americans voting, are ready for a fight.
Eliminating the filibuster has generally been known as the "nuclear option." The biggest problem that Republicans face, however, is that if they kill the filibuster this year and lose the 2026 midterm elections, it could destroy whatever future legislation that Republicans want to stop in a new session of the legislature.
Some far-right Republican stawarts are all for it. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who will be out of the U.S. Senate next year, called on his colleagues, “do it anyway.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) suggested holding a vote on the rules to see whether it would pass. It sets up another conflict with President Donald Trump.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) said he’s “hesitant” to kill the filibuster and lower the 60-vote rule, arguing he doesn’t want to “harm the long-term protections of the Senate, because I think that would ultimately hurt North Carolinians.”
“The practicality of doing it just isn’t apparent to me, simply because as soon as you start talking about amendments, the clock resets, and this will go on week after week, month after month — chew up the rest of the year,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told MS NOW Thursday.
As it stands, if they held a vote on changing the rules, it would not pass.