Some Senate Republicans are rejecting the possibility of invoking a little-known tactic to pass the SAVE America Act — despite their own staunch support for its policies and President Donald Trump’s calls to get it to his desk.
The “talking filibuster” gambit — which other GOP senators view as a possible last-ditch effort to pass the election integrity bill — would force Democrats in the upper chamber to deliver speeches to stall votes rather than simply threaten to withhold them. However, Senate rules pose multiple hurdles for Republicans seeking to pass the SAVE Act, as Democrats, if forced into a talking filibuster, could grind the chamber to a halt for weeks or even months and put the president’s agenda on pause.
The SAVE Act — which requires voter ID nationwide and proof of citizenship upon voter registration — adds guardrails to current federal law banning noncitizens from voting. The bill, which Thune has promised will reach the floor for a vote, would fail to reach the 60-vote threshold, making the talking filibuster the only way forward for the massively popularvoting policies.
Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines told the DCNF that he adamantly supports the bill but told the Daily Caller News Foundation the process to enact the talking filibuster is “fraught with peril.”
“You dig into the reality of this process where we realize this is not going to be a good strategy,” Daines told the DCNF.
“The process isn’t there,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who opposes invoking the talking filibuster, told the DCNF. “Love the policy.”
Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Wednesday the conference is not united on the talking filibuster, nor proceeding with the bill, but discussions are ongoing.
Republican West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice told the DCNF he doesn’t “think [the talking filibuster] will become a reality” even though he supports the bill.
“I don’t think it’s likely. I really don’t,” the West Virginia Republican told the DCNF. “Everybody feels really frustrated that we ought to be able to get something done and we see both sides are in constant food fights with one another.”
Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson shared the frustration over Republicans’ lack of movement on the legislation and called the amendments Democrats could introduce a “problem.”
Johnson told the DCNF a “one-and-done vote” is not adequate and Republicans should make Democrats “sit and talk and explain to the American public why [they don’t] want secure elections.”
House Republicans have been pressuring their colleagues in the upper chamber to force Democrats to filibuster the bill. However, this process could potentially allow Democrats to enact much of their agenda such as hiking taxes on the wealthy and raising the minimum wage.
The talking filibuster is driven by the two-speech rule with no time restrictions. Members are also allowed to introduce as many amendments as they want, making some Republicans worry about having to make politically controversial votes ahead of the midterms.
Any amendment vote that reaches a simple majority – as some tariff resolutions and enhanced Obamacare subsidies have in the past – would immediately be added to the SAVE Act and derail the effort to only pass the election integrity bill.
Democrats would also have an off-ramp for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding negotiations if the talking filibuster were to begin, as the SAVE Act would be the only pending business on the floor, blocking any votes on ending the partial government shutdown.
“We need to make sure we are in a strong position here in this tough election cycle. Taking these toxic 500 amendment votes as part of this process is not a good idea,” Daines told the DCNF. “So that’s the problem with the way this process unfolds.”
The main champion of the legislation in the Senate, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, conceded that the talking filibuster is “time-consuming and difficult” and it is “understandable that some senators are reluctant.”
“We still have to do it. The cost of not doing it is unacceptable,” he wrote in a Feb. 5 X post.
When asked by the DCNF about the disunity in the conference around the filibuster, Lee said, “one step at a time.”
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