John Thune tells Trump 'no' after president demands voter ID bill tied to spy law

WASHINGTON, DC: Senate Majority leader John Thune publicly rejected President Donald Trump's latest legislative demand, calling it “not realistic” to tie a voter ID measure to a stalled national security surveillance bill.

His pushback exposed a widening divide between Senate Republicans and the White House. It also underscored growing frustration among GOP leaders as Trump continues inserting unrelated priorities into must-pass legislation.

John Thune dismisses Trump’s latest ultimatum

The clash began after Trump declared on Truth Social that he would oppose renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless lawmakers attached the Save America Act, a voter ID proposal he has repeatedly championed.

“I’m against FISA if it doesn’t come with The Save America Act (Full version!) firmly attached to it,” Trump wrote.

Hours later, Thune made clear the Senate was not planning to follow that path.

“I think the president wants to add Save America to pretty much everything, but that, you know, obviously, is not realistic to get the FISA bill done, and we want to get the FISA bill done,” Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill.

The South Dakota Republican also suggested Trump’s demand caught Senate leaders by surprise.

“I’ve talked to him about FISA. I’m not sure in that conversation he brought up the SAVE Act,” Thune said.

His comments marked a rare public rejection of a direct request from Trump on a major legislative priority.

Senate Republicans face mounting pressure

The dispute arrives as Senate Republicans are already navigating a difficult political landscape ahead of the midterm elections, where they are trying to protect a four-seat majority.

According to the report, Trump has endorsed challengers against two sitting Republican senators who later lost their primaries and also forced another GOP senator from North Carolina out of the chamber.

Those moves have complicated Senate Republicans’ electoral strategy. The defeat of Sen John Cornyn in his Republican primary is expected to make the party’s map even more challenging this year.

Trump has also pushed other priorities into major legislation. The report notes that Republican efforts to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations were previously complicated by Trump’s efforts to include funding for a White House ballroom project and a proposed $1.776 billion fund for people he described as victims of the Justice Department under former President Joe Biden.

FISA fight remains unresolved

Even as Thune rejected Trump’s latest demand, the surveillance legislation remains stuck for separate reasons.

Section 702 expired Friday, May 12, amid a dispute involving the administration’s intelligence leadership plans.

The bill became entangled with opposition to Trump’s effort to elevate Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

The White House later shifted course and nominated former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton for the position permanently. But that move has not yet secured enough Democratic support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

For now, Thune says the path forward depends on that nomination battle being resolved.

Passage of the surveillance extension is now “all contingent on Clayton getting confirmed and in position,” Thune told reporters, leaving another key Senate priority caught between White House demands and an increasingly complicated vote count.