Senate Republicans say the debate within their conference over how hard to push for passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a sweeping voting reform bill, is becoming a “circular firing squad” as President Donald Trump’s allies ramp up pressure on their GOP colleagues to use extraordinary tactics to pass the bill. President Trump and his allies are warning that if Senate Republicans don’t pull out all the stops to pass the bill, they will face the wrath of MAGA voters. That threat is angering Senate GOP critics of the bill, who think it’s very poorly drafted and has absolutely no chance of passing. They say threats to punish them for not rallying behind the bill will only backfire as the party heads into a midterm election facing strong political headwinds, such as President Trump’s low approval ratings and voter dissatisfaction over inflation the economy and Iran. Senators are also questioning whether the Senate needs to debate the SAVE America Act beyond next week when it’s highly unlikely any Democrats will vote for it and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) has announced there aren’t enough GOP votes to force Democrats to wage a talking filibuster by actively holding the floor for days or even weeks to oppose it.
Republicans are also grappling with how to handle an expected $200 billion request for supplemental funding for the war in Iran, weighing their desire to support the president with demands from fiscal hawks, questions about the scope of the funding and the challenge of a super-slim majority in the House. Democrats are not expected to support such a Pentagon funding boost for a war they oppose, leading Republicans to eye fulfilling the request through the special budget reconciliation process, which bypasses the need for Democratic support to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. But to do that, Republicans must get near-unanimous support in a slim House GOP majority — a tall task for even the most populist GOP priorities — while contending with demands from their own members to offset the cost of such a funding boost with massive cuts elsewhere. The cost of the war in Iran continues to rapidly climb as the conflict nears the end of its third week, with the bombing campaign costing well more than $1 billion a day.
For today, following Leader remarks, the Senate resumed consideration of the House Message to accompany S.1383, legislative vehicle for the SAVE Act.
Before adjourning for the week, the House passed H.R. 4638 – Federal Working Animal Protection Act on a 228 to 190 vote.
