President Trump is obsessed with making our elections more secure because of what he believes happened in the 2020 election cycle.
Trump seems incapable of being convinced that Joe Biden beat him fair and square, and if one were to be honest, a growing body of evidence revealed since then would indicated strongly that a great deal of vote fraud actually did occur.
Just recently, for example, Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey addressed the fact that more than 6,600 non-citizens in her state alone were registered to vote, and that hundreds did in recent elections.
So it makes perfect sense that Trump is supporting the SAVE America Act, which would require, among other things, nationwide voter ID rules and a requirement to prove you’re a U.S. citizen before being able to vote.
The trouble is, Trump can’t seem to get a Republican-controlled Congress to pass it because it keeps getting stalled in the Senate.
Now, Trump has taken to criticizing Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) over the stalled legislation, which intensified Thursday as the White House signaled growing frustration with Republican leaders’ inability to move the voting legislation forward before Congress begins its August recess.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president wants to see “as much of the SAVE America Act passed as possible” before senators leave Washington, pointing to comments Trump made during a rally in Georgia on Wednesday.
“Look, the president spoke about this directly yesterday, his patience is running out,” Leavitt said during a White House briefing Thursday.
The bill also includes provisions requiring states to remove non-citizens from voting rolls.
At the Georgia rally Wednesday, Trump blasted the Senate as “a place that you send things when you want them to die” and urged supporters to pressure Thune.
“Everybody call John Thune. He’s the leader of the Republican party, and tell him to get this stuff approved,” Trump said.
Thune responded to the White House’s criticism by arguing that the SAVE America Act currently lacks the votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate, according to CNN.
He suggested the administration should focus its efforts on persuading enough lawmakers to support the legislation before bringing it to the floor.
“Instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol Thursday.
“And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone. Let’s get them to yes,” Thune added.
Thune has repeatedly said the SAVE America Act does not have enough support to advance in the Senate, where it would need Democratic backing to reach the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster.
One alternative would be for Senate Republicans to eliminate the legislative filibuster for the bill, which would allow it to pass with a simple majority.
However, more than half of the Republican conference opposes changing the chamber’s filibuster rules.
Speaking with CNN’s Manu Raju, Thune said he remains in regular contact with President Trump despite the president’s public criticism.
“We talk fairly regularly,” Thune said, adding that their conversations are generally “on an as-needed basis.”
The public disagreement underscored growing tensions between the White House and Senate Republicans over the legislation, even as GOP lawmakers continued to express confidence in Thune’s leadership.
Sen. John Kennedy (R) of Louisiana said there had been no discussion within the conference about replacing the majority leader, emphasizing that Thune retains broad support among Senate Republicans.
“That’s not something we’re talking about. I’ve heard nobody talk about that,” Kennedy said.
“I’ve seen no indication that Senator Thune does not support the SAVE Act — and let me put it more categorical, John Thune supports the SAVE Act, but we have some members who do not,” Kennedy said.