Senate Majority Leader John Thune appears to be giving up hope when it comes to passing the SAVE Act. The landmark piece of legislation would have required national photo ID for federal elections. It’s been a key focus of President Trump and the GOP grassroots.
Thune is blaming the failure to pass the bill on the slim GOP majority, saying during a recent press conference: “We don’t have the votes to get rid of the filibuster. We had a very spirited debate.” He added that he’s spoken more in favor of the SAVE Act than any other senator.
Matt Kittle, the senior elections correspondent at The Federalist, says he could be doing more. “If they tried, they certainly didn’t try everything, and there are a lot of frustrated voters about this,” he said.
Kittle went on to warn that the Senate GOP’s surrender on the SAVE Act could have a devastating effect on grassroots morale. “It’s bruising, no doubt about it, and it could be brutal. We already know the headwinds going into the midterm elections for the party in power,” he said.
He added that this could be another example of RINO Republicans trying to avoid being put on the record on the issue of both the SAVE Act and the filibuster.