WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune told The Post that Republicans may finally have a viable strategy to pass the SAVE America Act and speculated on the breakthrough Sen. Lindsey Graham told President Trump about before his death.
Trump claimed on “Meet the Press” on Sunday that during his final phone call with Graham (R-SC), the late senator told him, “We’re all set for the SAVE America Act,” but the president didn’t specify how.
Republicans have repeatedly tried to jam the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote and other election reforms, through the Senate, but have consistently failed due to a Democratic filibuster. The SAVE America Act is Trump’s top legislative priority this year.
“Perhaps what Lindsey was talking to the president about — I don’t know this for a fact — [was] whether or not there was an option for reconciliation, and there is a way in which I think you could [do that],” Thune (R-SD) explained to The Post in an interview.
Thune stressed that Republicans don’t even have “close” to the votes needed to nuke the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote threshold to overcome. And he contended there was no way of getting Democrats on board.
In the past, Republicans have skirted around the filibuster using the budget reconciliation process, which is subject to complex rules and must impact the budget, to pass legislation such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Many senators had long cast doubt on the possibility of using reconciliation to advance the SAVE America Act because it doesn’t inherently impact the budget. But Republicans planned on attempting another reconciliation bill to beef up defense spending anyway.
“It’s got to be principally budgetary, not policy-oriented. And if the budgetary impact is incidental to the policy impact, then you know it’s usually ruled a violation,” Thune said, alluding to the Senate Parliamentarian. “I’m not denying there’s some level of subjectivity.”
“Figuring out a way to incentivize states to pass or to implement photo ID in their states through financial incentives is something that’s been talked about as a possible reconciliation option,” he added. “How you design or structure it matters a lot.”
As the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham was deeply involved with discussions regarding reconciliation.
A key reason why the SAVE America Act was considered necessary is that the Supreme Court shot down an attempt by Arizona in 2013 to impose a proof-of-citizenship requirement, concluding that states can’t change the national voter registration form by themselves.
The high court is set to take up another attempt by Arizona to implement a proof-of-citizenship requirement in its next term.
On Wednesday, the House Budget Committee rolled out a budget resolution for the measure, something that unlocks the reconciliation process once it has been adopted.
The $95 billion blueprint includes $60 billion for defense, $13 billion for intelligence, $12 billion in farm aid, and $10 billion in grants to advance elements of the SAVE America Act.
It has been dubbed reconciliation 3.0, but faces a very tricky path through Congress due to early skepticism from deficit hawks within the GOP.
“I want to get it done,” Thune said of the SAVE America Act.
