Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other senior Republicans are pushing back after Donald Trump demanded Monday that they cancel the chamber’s month-long August recess and stay in town to pass voter ID legislation.
Trump, in a Truth Social post early in the day, reiterated his call for senators to stay in town for the month of August to pass the SAVE America Act, a piece of voter ID legislation he wants to see implemented before the midterms elections. He demanded, in his post, that Thune and the GOP caucus terminate the legislative filibuster to accomplish this goal, something Thune insists he will not do and does not have the votes to accomplish.
The GOP Senate leader and other Republicans made frustrated comments to reporters on Monday claiming that Trump oversold the Senate’s ability to pass voter ID legislation to Republican voters, and refusing to stay in town to take up legislation that could not pass a 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Thune was clearly on the edge of his patience with the White House as he spoke to reporters on Monday.
“We could stay here ‘til Christmas,” said the Republican leader. “Democrats aren’t voting for this, I’m just telling you. And Republicans are not getting rid of the legislative filibuster.”
“If I thought there was a path to getting a result, I’m all for it,” he added of cancelling the August recess. “But if we are going to be sitting here and in endless quorum calls, I don’t know if that’s in anybody’s best interest.”
This is a breaking news report. More to follow…
