Americans have a hard time understanding objectives in Iran
Congress has never taken a formal vote on the Iran war, despite more than five months of conflict, rising gas prices and declining public support.
WASHINGTON – The White House says President Donald Trump’s patience is wearing thin as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the top Republican in the Senate, struggles to unite the party to pass legislation that Trump calls for overhauling federal election voting.
“His patience is running thin,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters at a July 23 briefing. “He wants the SAVE America bill to pass as much as possible before the August recess. He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed.”
Leavitt’s remarks came after President Trump singled out Thune, R-South Dakota, by name in a July 22 speech in Marietta, Georgia. The president urged Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act. The bill, a stalled bill that President Trump hopes to pass before the midterm elections, would require proof of citizenship and voter ID to vote and ban universal mail-in voting.
“I’m trying to be kind, I’m really trying to be kind,” Trump said. “But if they’re not given voter ID or proof of citizenship and they can’t vote by mail, it won’t take much longer, because they’re crooked as hell.”
“They should end the filibuster,” the president added. “Everyone, please call the Republican leader, John Thune, to the Senate and tell him to approve this.”
Mr. Thune counters by saying, “Answer the phone and get your votes.”
The president has long urged Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster, the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, and allow legislation to pass with a simple majority in the chamber, which Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. But four Senate Republicans have expressed opposition to the bill, making it unclear whether it would have enough support to pass even without a filibuster.
Mr. Thune fired back in response to Mr. Levitt’s remarks. “She or someone else should pick up the phone and collect the votes, right?” he told reporters. “Instead of blaming Republicans, they might consider going after the people who are blocking it in the chamber, the Democrats.”
After Levitt’s remarks, Senate Republicans quickly came to Thune’s defense. Thune still enjoys broad support within the Republican conference, despite stalling on some of Trump’s priorities in the chamber.
“I have 1,000 percent confidence in Mr. Thune,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina). “Nobody in the White House who doesn’t think he’s a good leader deserves to be in that job.”
The Republican-led House of Representatives has passed the SAVE America Act three times, but it has failed to pass in the Senate.
To avoid a Senate filibuster, House Republicans on July 22 approved a $95 billion budget framework that included elements of the SAVE America Act, with the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson’s goal is to pass the bill through a budget process called reconciliation, which requires a simple majority in the Senate. However, senators could block any attempt to pass the voting review as a budget bill.
“I have to say Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but they’re having a tough time in the Senate. The Senate, what they’re doing is just not right,” Trump said. “The Senate is like a place to send things when you want them dead.”
No vote yet on SAVE America Act to pass Senate
President Trump warned of the fragility of U.S. elections and accused China of interfering in the election in a prime-time address to the nation last week as he sought to rally support for the SAVE Act with less than four months to go until midterm elections in which Republicans risk losing their majority in Congress. But experts say the president exaggerated the scale of the election’s vulnerabilities and relied on some information that was already publicly available.
Despite Mr. Johnson’s legislative efforts in the House, it is unclear whether a reconciliation bill containing elements of the SAVE Act will have the support of 50 senators to pass the Senate.
All Senate Democrats have expressed opposition to the SAVE America Act. In addition, four Republicans (Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Sen. Tillis) each voted against a motion to add the bill to the Republican budget bill in June.
Contributor: Zachary Schermele, america today
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
