John Thune leaves door open to Trump's demand to cancel August recess to pass SAVE America Act

WASHINGTON, DC: John Thune suggested he could heed President Donald Trump's escalating demands to cancel the Senate's five-week August recess to debate the SAVE America Act only if there’s a chance of a successful outcome.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a key piece of Trump's election agenda, would require Americans to verify their US citizenship before registering to vote and show a valid photo ID when casting their ballots.

The president has repeatedly urged Thune to scrap the legislative filibuster, which effectively sets a 60-vote threshold for most legislation in the 100-member Senate, or find another workaround to pass the voting bill.

But Republicans hold only a 53-47 majority, and Thune has consistently said they don't have the votes to pass the bill or change the rules to get around the filibuster.

Trump repeated his demands on Monday, July 27, posting on his Truth Social that “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.”

The Senate is scheduled to be in session for the next two weeks before leaving for a five-week recess.

John Thune won't rule out canceling August recess

Speaking on Monday, Thune said he was not ruling out postponing the Senate's August recess if doing so could help advance the SAVE America Act.

However, he emphasized that Republicans still lack the votes to eliminate the filibuster, arguing the only way that could change is if Trump persuades enough GOP senators to reverse their positions.

“Ahhh, do you guys want to be here in August? What do you think?” Thune quipped to the Capitol press corps as he walked into the Senate.

“If I thought there was a path for getting a result, I’m all for it. I’m a cosponsor of the SAVE Act. We voted on it two, three, four, five times already. We had it up on the floor for an extended period of time,” he said, adding, “Show me how this ends. What’s the picture of victory at the end?”

Several GOP Senators plan to vote to cancel recess

Several Republican senators, including Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, have vowed to oppose adjourning the Senate for its August recess unless the SAVE America Act is passed. However, their objections could be overridden if 60 senators vote in favor of recess.

Last week, Lee warned Thune in a social media post that he would oppose any attempt to send the Senate into its August recess, while also demanding a roll call vote on the proposed five-week adjournment spanning most of August and early September.

“We’re going to have some conversations over the course of the next couple of days,” Thune said on Monday. “If somebody can show me how we get an outcome, how we get a result, how we get an answer to this, I’m all for it.” 

“But if we’re going to be sitting here in endless quorum calls, I don’t know if that’s in anybody’s best interest,” he added, warning of the prospect of spending hours and hours next month reading through the Senate’s roster of names while the floor sits empty.

Thune also noted that several Republican senators facing competitive reelection races need time to return home and campaign to help the GOP retain control of the Senate.