Some Republicans are fuming as Senate GOP leadership refuses to bend on the filibuster to pass President Donald Trump’s long-sought voter ID legislation.
Trump and his House allies have pushed the SAVE America Act, which would require photo ID at the ballot box and proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. Senate Republicans have publicly backed the policy but so far have refused to change the chamber’s rules to lower the 60-vote threshold needed to pass legislation.
The dilemma came to a head Tuesday when Rep. Eric Burlison (r-MO) unleashed a scathing rebuke of the upper chamber.
Burlison didn’t hold back his frustration, accusing his Senate colleagues of laziness.
“It’s pathetic that our Senate is, you know, acting like a nursing home where people don’t actually have to do anything,” he told NOTUS. “A filibuster is supposed to be them standing and talking, but they don’t want to do that.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune made clear he won’t budge on the filibuster, telling reporters there aren’t “anywhere close to the votes, not even close, to nuking the filibuster.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who has found himself in a bitter primary race this year, echoed that sentiment, dismissively noting, “The House doesn’t care about the Senate. They think we should eliminate the filibuster entirely.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who’s running for governor, admitted the bill won’t pass.
“You’ve already got too many on our side that said they wouldn’t vote for it, we’re not going to get any on the Democratic side,” he said. “So it’s not going to happen.”
With Republicans holding just 53 Senate seats, they’d need Democratic support, a near-impossibility.
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