Senate Republicans are gearing up for a floor fight this week over doomed Trump-backed voter ID legislation.
Senate Majority Leader R-S.D., is expected to launch the GOPs floor strategy for the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act on Tuesday afternoon.
It wont be done through the talking filibuster, despite pressure from President and a fervent ecosystem of conservative influencers to do so. Thats because there is not enough support among Republicans to follow through with the move.
“It’s about the math,” Thune said. “And I’m, for better or worse, the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here. And so we’ll continue to convey that. And I think that we’re going to have the fight on the floor. Were going to vote on this.”
Republicans’ plan is to put Senate Democrats on record for voting down the bill. And Senate Democrats are primed to oblige.Â
“Democrats will not let Donald Trump ram this bill through the Senate. Not this week, not ever,” Senate Minority Leader D-N.Y., said on a call with reporters over the weekend. “And Democrats are going to make sure the American people have their chance to deliver their verdict at the elections this fall.”
Part of the issue among Republicans, outside the staggering amount of floor time it would take up, is that the GOP isn’t unified to block Democratic amendments that could drastically alter the bill if they went the route of the talking filibuster.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is one of the key voices pushing for the SAVE America Act in the Senate, acknowledged that Republicans “dont have the votes for the talking filibuster right now.”
“We just got to, you know, we got to look at every way we can try to pass it,” Scott said.
Still, the first procedural step on Tuesday will take a simple majority but may still need an assist from Vice President to break a tie.
And throughout the process, which could stretch over several days, there will be a handful of key lawmakers to watch in both chambers.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., declared last week that he wouldnt support the SAVE America Act and that he planned to “do everything I can to prevent it from even moving forward.”Â
How that could play out during the lengthy floor battle remains to be seen.
Still, Tillis objection to the bill is notable, given Republicans thin margin for error in the upper chamber.
He would rather vote on legislation that incentivized states to adopt voter ID and warned that the additional changes to the bill Trump wanted, like barring men in womens sports or halting mail-in ballots with limited exceptions, “doesn’t sound like we’re letting the people at the tip of the spear â that’s these people running for re-election â define what we should be voting on next week.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, came out early against the SAVE America Act and contended that “one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska.”
“Election Day is fast approaching,” Murkowski said in February. “Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies, likely without the necessary resources.”
Whether shell vote to allow Republicans to open debate on the bill and march forward with their slew of amendments is still an open question. Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back from her office for comment.
Sen. , D-Pa., who often bucks his party on key votes in the Senate, likes the idea of voter ID but isnt on board with some of the changes demanded by Trump.
Fetterman said on “Mornings with Maria” that the SAVE America Act was “needlessly complicated,” particularly Trumps request to include a sweeping ban on mail-in ballots with limited exceptions.
“I have said it’s not Jim Crow, and it’s not extreme thin
