WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is turning up the heat on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, demanding he keep the Senate in Washington and cancel the August recess until senators pass a sweeping voter eligibility bill — even though Republicans currently don’t have enough votes to move it forward.
Trump has repeatedly pushed Thune to eliminate the legislative filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance most bills in the 100-member Senate, or find another way to pass the SAVE America Act. With Republicans holding only a 53-47 majority, Thune has been straightforward: the votes aren’t there to pass the bill or change the rules to bypass the filibuster.
“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump wrote on social media.
Later on Monday, Trump told reporters he maintains a good relationship with the majority leader but made clear that Thune “got to get his job done.”
This latest move is part of a months-long push by Trump and conservative Republicans to get the SAVE Act passed before the midterm elections. A small but growing group of Republican senators has also been pressuring Thune to find a path forward on the legislation.
House Republicans have tried to create an alternate route by working the bill into the budget reconciliation process, which would allow voting-related spending to pass the Senate with just a simple majority. The House approved a budget framework last week that included $10 billion tied to voting changes aligned with the SAVE America Act — but Thune has said Republicans don’t currently have the votes for that approach either.
The ongoing fight risks derailing the Senate’s final push before the August break, which is set to begin August 7. Thune had hoped to use that remaining time to tackle government funding, cryptocurrency legislation, and Russia sanctions. The recess is also an important window for senators to return home and campaign ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Several Republican senators are running in competitive races, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan. Beyond the SAVE Act battle, Republicans are also dealing with broader political challenges — among them an unpopular war in Iran, rising gas prices, and stubbornly high costs for everyday Americans.
Throughout the year, Thune has maintained strong support from his Republican colleagues as he’s pushed back on Trump’s demands. He previously kept the SAVE Act on the Senate floor for weeks in hopes of building enough support, but was unable to secure the votes needed to advance it.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who has championed the bill in the Senate, escalated his own pressure late last week, warning that how Republicans handle the SAVE America Act “could impact not only the November midterm elections, but also the Senate GOP leadership elections.”
“Leaders must lead. And if they don’t, they’re not leaders,” Lee wrote on social media Friday.
Thune, frustrated by the pressure when no clear path to passage exists, has urged Trump, Lee, and others to help him round up the necessary votes. Trump said Friday he would “certainly be willing” to make calls to senators.
When asked last week whether Trump was frustrated with Thune, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “his patience is running out.” However, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday while traveling to an event in Michigan that he hasn’t “even thought” about possible replacements for Thune.
The dispute mirrors a similar conflict ahead of last year’s August recess, when Trump pressured Thune to keep senators in Washington to work through a backlog of presidential nominees. That standoff ended without a deal after negotiations with Democrats broke down and the Senate left anyway.
The SAVE America Act — which stands for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility — would require Americans to prove citizenship when registering to vote, primarily through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate. It would also mandate photo identification before casting a ballot, a requirement that some states already have in place.
Voting experts have warned the bill could prevent as many as 20 million Americans from voting — people who don’t have birth certificates or other required documents readily accessible.
Trump has made the legislation his top priority for 2026, claiming it would “guarantee the midterms” and falsely asserting that election fraud is “rampant.” He had previously refused to sign any other legislation until the SAVE Act was passed.
