Trump pushes passage of SAVE Act before recess
By: Joey Garison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is calling for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the Senate in session and not allow lawmakers to break for summer recess until Senate Republicans pass his voting restriction bill.
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Trump's demand in a July 27 [2026] post on Truth Social comes as the president has applied increasing pressure on Thune to find a way to pass the long-stalled SAVE America Act failing in the Senate.
..... The bill would require proof of citizenship and voter identification to vote in federal elections, while dramatically scaling back mail-in voting, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
..... "John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to 'leave town' until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER. where Republicans can then quickly pas everything they ever dreamed of," Trump said in the post.
..... The Senate is scheduled to go on recess August 7 [2026] and return to Washington on September 14. [2026] Thune is expected to address reporters on the afternoon of August 3. [2026]
..... Tension between Trump and Thune has mounted. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently said Trump's "patience is running out" with Thune amid the Senate's inaction on the SAVE America Act.
..... Trump, in a July 22 [2026] speech in Georgia, urged his supporters to contact Thune over the legislation. "Everybody call John Thune at the Senate - he's the leader of the Republican Party - and tell him to get this stuff approved," the president said.
..... Despite singling Thune out, Trump said eh has a "good relationship" with the Republican Senate leader. "He's just got to get his job done," the president told reporters aboard Air Force One on July 27. [2026]
..... Asked whether he wants Thune replaced as leader, Trump said, "I haven't even though of it."
..... The president has repeatedly called for Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster, the Senate's 60-vote threshold, to allow Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act with a simple majority in a chamber they control 53-47. Yet the proposal doesn't appear to have enough support to pass even if the filibuster were eliminated.
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All Senate Democrats have expressed opposition to the SAVE America Act. In addition, four Republicans - Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Mankowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina - each voted against a motion in June [2026] to add the legislation to a Republican budget package.
..... In a push to bypass a Senate filibuster, House Republicans on July 22 [2026] approve a $95 billion budget framework backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson that includes elements of the SAVE America Act. Johnson's goal is to pass the framework thorough a budget process called reconciliation, which would require a simple majority in the Senate.
..... Yet the Senate parliamentarian could strike down an attempt to pass a voting overhaul as a budget bill. And whether a reconciliation bill with components of the SAVE America Act could reach a 50-vote threshold in the Senate is also unclear.