President Donald Trump on Monday morning called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to cancel the upper chamber’s lengthy August recess until they pass the SAVE America Act — the voter suppression bill the president and his MAGA allies have been obsessively pushing Congress to pass for months.
“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to “leave town” until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of, including a full and deep throated SAVE AMERICA ACT, the Budget, and the ever looming Debt Ceiling disaster, 1929!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “The Dumocrats will do it on day one, and can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership. Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!”
Trump’s call for the Senate to stay in town and pass the far-right voter suppression bill comes just after one of the bill’s most passionate advocates — Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) — called on Thune to cancel the scheduled recess over the weekend.
X.@LeaderJohnThune, I hereby object to any effort to put the Senate into recess in August—at least until such time as the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act—and hereby request a roll call vote.
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 26, 2026
Do not assume you have my consent.
You do not. https://t.co/jyt1lvkmQu
Lawmakers typically use these lengthy recesses to campaign at home. With the upcoming midterm elections and some tough Senate races ahead — including in Maine, Alaska and Ohio — senators are banking on using the recess to campaign and connect with voters.
But despite that reality, a handful of vocal right-wingers joined in on Lee’s calls.
“I stand with @basedmikelee. I will vote to stay in session unless we have passed the SAVE America Act. The American people expect us to deliver. They deserve secure elections,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) chimed in.
“The Senate needs to stay in session until we can get the SAVE America Act to the floor and passed,” Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) agreed on X.
It’s unclear how effective the push from the president and the proponents of the bill will be.
Trump has made calls to end the filibuster before. The proponents of the bill have also called on Thune to use the so-called “talking filibuster” to try and pass the bill. None of them swayed Thune.
Even if the Senate stays in session over August, Thune does not have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act in its current form or without blowing up long standing Senate procedures.
The Majority Leader has said over and over again that he does not have the votes to pass the bill.
Last week Thune even called out the White House for their incessant push on the issue.
“Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone. Let’s get them to yes,” Thune said in response to a comment from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Trump’s “patience is running out” on the SAVE Act.
“She or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes, right?” Thune told reporters.
As Thune mentioned, not all Senate Republicans are on board with passing the voter suppression bill. Earlier this month, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned he will oppose any effort to implement the SAVE America Act before the 2026 midterms, saying that it would cause chaos across the country to change voting rules this close to an election.
I think I see another flaw in DonOLD- he has problems with timing. Well timing and evidence that can stand up to changing how people vote when the states are in control voting.
Oh, so Republicans care about consent now? For themselves only, of course.