John Thune
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is publicly rebuffing Donald Trump's pressure to pass the SAVE America Act, kill the filibuster, and cancel the August recess, telling the president the 60 votes simply aren't there — while managing a government-funding fight, a stalled defense bill, and an internal GOP rebellion over recess.
John Thune is in the middle of the sharpest confrontation of his majority-leadership tenure, caught between a president demanding legislative results the Senate cannot deliver and a fractious Republican conference that includes hardliners agitating for the same results.
The defining fight is the SAVE America Act, Trump's proof-of-citizenship voter-registration bill. Thune has told Trump plainly the bill has failed five floor votes and lacks the 60 needed to break a Democratic filibuster. When Trump pressed him to cancel the August recess and kill the legislative filibuster to force it through, Thune said the votes aren't there for that either: "there aren't going to be 50 votes to get rid of the legislative filibuster." He has been blunt in public, calling Trump's belief that the bill can pass "an alternative universe" and responding to Trump's musings about replacing him as leader with weary humor: "if the president could find somebody else to do this job, it might be a big relief."
At least 11 Senate Republicans — including Mike Lee and Rick Scott — vow to object to the August recess to force SAVE Act action, putting Thune in a squeeze from his own side. He is weighing a reconciliation workaround dubbed "Reconciliation 3.0," a $95 billion party-line package that could fund SAVE Act mandates and possibly keep the government open, though he is skeptical it satisfies hardliners and says the House version's Senate path is "murky at best." Thom Tillis threatens to slow the chamber if the act is forced through reconciliation. John Cornyn backs Thune's view that promising unattainable results disappoints voters.
Beyond the SAVE Act, Thune is juggling a House-passed stopgap CR to fund the government through December, a stalled crypto regulation bill that needs Democratic votes the ethics language can't attract, a $1.15 trillion defense bill Democrats blocked over the Iran war, and a daylight-saving-time push Trump is lobbying for — on which Thune offers only "some for, some against." He deflected Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's call to investigate Mitch McConnell's capacity to serve, and he has been courting Senator John Fetterman to switch parties, telling reporters Republicans would welcome him.
On their plate
Thune is publicly resisting Trump's pressure to pass the SAVE America Act, cancel the August recess, and kill the legislative filibuster, telling the president the votes aren't there. Trump has questioned whether Thune should remain leader; Thune responded with open frustration. At least 11 Senate Republicans are rebelling over the recess to force SAVE Act action, while Thune weighs a reconciliation workaround he is skeptical will satisfy hardliners.
A House-passed stopgap CR running through December 4 now sits in the Senate. Thune says its path is "murky at best," wants a bipartisan deal, and intends a floor vote before August 7, while keeping a $95 billion party-line reconciliation package as a fallback that could also fund the government.
Thune is defending the $1.15 trillion FY27 NDAA after Senate Democrats blocked it 50-46 in protest of the Iran war. He used a procedural vote switch to preserve the option to reconsider and called the bill essential to military readiness.
Thune is pushing for a Senate floor vote before August 7 on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which needs 60 votes but faces Democratic objections to its ethics language. He is noncommittal on permanent daylight saving time, which Trump is lobbying for, saying only "some for, some against."
Thune has disclosed past conversations with Senator John Fetterman about friction in the Democratic caucus and said Republicans would welcome him if he defects. He also deflected Governor Andy Beshear's call to investigate Mitch McConnell's capacity to serve, calling it an issue between McConnell and Kentucky voters.
Key relationships
Trump is pressuring Thune to cancel recess, kill the filibuster, and pass the SAVE Act; Thune is pushing back publicly, saying the votes aren't there and calling Trump's belief otherwise an "alternative universe." Trump has questioned whether Thune should remain leader.
Schumer led Senate Democrats in blocking the $1.15 trillion NDAA to protest Trump's Iran war, denying Thune the 60 votes needed to advance the defense bill.
Thune has been courting Fetterman to switch parties, disclosing past conversations about Fetterman's friction within the Democratic caucus and saying Republicans would welcome him.
Tillis threatens to slow down the Senate if the SAVE Act is forced through reconciliation, creating an internal GOP obstacle to Thune's fallback strategy.
Cornyn backs Thune's position that promising unattainable results disappoints voters, providing internal GOP support against the hardliner rebellion.
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