Amid Trump's push, Mike Lee urges Senate to keep debating SAVE America Act until it passes

WASHINGTON, DC: Sen Mike Lee urged the Senate on Saturday, July 25, to keep debating the SAVE America Act until it passes, adding to President Donald Trump's growing pressure on Senate Republicans to move the legislation before the August recess.

His remarks came as Trump continues demanding action from Senate Republicans. The renewed push also keeps attention on the chamber's ongoing disagreement over the filibuster.

Mike Lee presses Senate to stay on SAVE America Act

Speaking on the Senate floor Saturday, the Utah Republican argued there was no reason to delay debate if Americans broadly support voter identification requirements.

"If overwhelming majorities of Americans support voter ID, and they do, then what exactly, Mr. President, are we waiting for?" Lee said. "Why don't we pull this bill up right now and debate it and announce that we're going to debate it until it passes?"

Lee argued that extended debate would ultimately force senators to negotiate a path forward rather than abandon the legislation because of procedural hurdles.

"If we were to do that, it would pass," he said. "It might take us a few days. It might take us a few weeks, but it would pass."

He also suggested lawmakers should not leave Washington while the measure remains stalled.

"They shouldn't be able to go home until we're finished with this," Lee said. "None of us should."

Lee challenges modern filibuster strategy

Lee also took aim at how the Senate now approaches the filibuster, arguing lawmakers have drifted away from its original purpose.

"If we were truly doing our job here, then the 60-vote cloture standard wouldn't be perceived as the insuperable obstacle that it's been described wrongly as being here today," he said.

Lee noted that the Senate once operated without a cloture rule and said breaking a filibuster historically depended on sustained floor debate rather than immediately counting votes.

"Most of the time, it just meant the Senate would come in and say, 'Okay, we're debating this bill until it passes,'" Lee said, adding that opponents would have to continue speaking if they wanted to prolong debate.

He argued that the modern approach has changed the chamber's understanding of the procedure.

"The modern filibuster, in which we look at it as a simple vote counting exercise, unless you can count to 60 on day one of a bill's consideration, you consider it failed," Lee said. "That, Mr. President, it's not just that it doesn't amplify; it doesn't further the purpose of the filibuster."

Trump ramps up pressure before recess

Lee's speech follows days of intensified pressure from Trump and the White House over the Senate's inability to pass the SAVE America Act.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday, July 23, that Trump's "patience is running out" and that he wants "as much of the SAVE America Act passed as possible by the August recess."

Trump also criticized the Senate during a campaign-style stop in Georgia on Wednesday, saying, "Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we're having a hard time in the Senate."

He added, "The Senate, what they're doing, it's just not right," before arguing, "It's like the Senate is where you send things you want them to die," and warning, "We're not going to be able to take it much longer."