Senate Majority Leader Thune promises vote on SAVE America Act voter ID bill

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) is ready to test Senate Democrats on voter ID legislation.

The Saving American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act won the support of 50 Senate Republicans, including Thune; This is enough to overcome a significant procedural hurdle.

Whether it will make it through the Senate to President Donald Trump’s desk is an unlikely scenario for now if lawmakers follow the traditional path in the upper chamber. Still, Thune wants to put Democrats at the forefront as the midterm elections approach.

“We’re going to vote,” Thune told Fox News Digital.

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His comments came as he was crisscrossing his home state of South Dakota; here he and Republicans in their home state are selling their legislative successes as the primary season quickly approaches.

Thune saw the opportunity for a floor vote as a way for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Year) and his group to explain to voters why they would block a legislative push that would federally enshrine voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote.

“We’re going to get everyone to go on the record, and if they want to be against only American citizens voting in our elections, they can defend that when they have to campaign against Republicans this fall,” Thune said.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DY, and most Senate Democrats are not willing to support the Save America Act, making it difficult for the bill to survive in the upper chamber. (Nathan Posner/Anatolia via Getty Images)

But the political makeup of the Senate will mean a tough road to navigate if Republicans want to pass the bill.

Although a majority of the Senate GOP supports the bill, without at least a handful of Senate Democrats joining them, it is doomed to fall victim to the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

And Schumer has repeatedly made clear that he and the majority of Senate Democrats view the legislation passed by the House last week as a tool of voter suppression that would needlessly harm poor Americans and minority groups.

So Senate Republicans are looking at their options.

One on which Thune pours cold water is bombarding the Senate filibuster. The other tends to talk or stand and go rogue. This is the physical precursor to the current filibuster, which requires hours of debate on a bill.

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President Donald Trump listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Some fear that going this route could paralyze the Senate floor. Thune acknowledged that concern, having done this himself before, but noted another wrinkle.

“A lot of people focus on unlimited debate, and yes, that’s something that can go on for weeks, even literally months,” Thune said. “But there are also unlimited amendments, so each amendment (there are no rules) so each amendment will get 51 votes.”

He argued that several politically difficult amendments could be introduced that would put members in a tough re-election and possibly cause them to pass, “which could end up being very damaging to the bill.”

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Thune hasn’t stopped the idea of ​​resorting to the filibuster, especially if it would result in lawmakers actually being able to pass the RELIEVE America Act. But in the Senate, the consequences of politically divisive legislation are rarely guaranteed.

“I think it’s clearly a mechanism to pursue an outcome, but in the end I don’t know that it’s going to get you the outcome you want,” Thune said. “And there can be a lot of collateral damage along the way.”