GOP leader delivers some 'not so good news' to Trump’s White House

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks with reporters following the Senate Republicans' weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

Following Donald Trump’s demand that Republicans nuke the filibuster to ensure passage of a divisive election reform bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has some “not so good news” for the White House, according to Frank Thorp of NBC News.

“The votes aren't there to nuke the filibuster,” said Thune, “It's just a reality. … The math doesn't add up.”

Trump has spent the past month pushing the Republican-led Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, legislation that would require voters to provide proof of American citizenship at polling locations before voting. While the bill passed in the House last month, opposition in the Senate means it is unlikely to get the 60 votes necessary to avoid a legislative filibuster.

Trump and some GOP lawmakers have urged Republican senators to take action that would force Democrats into a “talking filibuster,” in which a vote on the bill would only be delayed as long as a member of the opposition party was physically holding the floor while speaking, and that would allow passage by a simple majority as soon as they stopped. But after Thune and others from his party argued that such an approach would be “complicated and risky,” he now says that the numbers aren’t there to support it in the first place.

In a further attempt to pressure GOP lawmakers to support the bill, reports NBC, Trump has declared that he will not sign any other legislation until the SAVE Act is passed. Said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, his party welcomes this Trump-imposed “total gridlock,” arguing that they will not support the bill “under any circumstances” as it will disenfranchise tens of millions of American voters.

According to Politico, Trump has also said that he is withholding his endorsement in the Texas Senate race, waiting to see which of the two GOP candidates would offer the strongest support to nuking the filibuster and pushing through the bill. This, asserted Thune, is a mistake.

“It’s probably not a linkage that’s in anybody’s best interest,” said Thune.

As Republicans scramble to shore up support for the bill, its future seems increasingly uncertain, regardless of pressure from the White House.

“Voting on the SAVE America Act is something we will do, but passage is not guaranteed,” admitted Thune. “I just wouldn't assume that that's going to happen.”

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