Not only is Senate Majority Leader John Thune not looking at ways to get the SAVE America Act passed, according to a prominent GOP lawmaker, he’s not even considering passing it, period.
The election integrity measure, which passed the House but has been held up in the Senate for the lack of votes for cloture, would require proof of citizenship and eligibility to vote and limit widespread mail-in voting measures.
For months, Republican leadership has discussed whether or not a so-called “talking filibuster” would eventually force negotiations or shut down avenues of blocking the SAVE America Act; proponents said that a more substantive filibuster needed to return anyway, while opponents said that it would allow Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to control the agenda for weeks, if not months, and would either be tantamount to a modified nuclear option or have no substantive effect.
But, as Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna noted on X, we’re not talking about that, now that Congress has returned from a short two-week recess, because we’re not going to be talking about the SAVE America Act, period.
“Just so America knows, after two weeks in recess, John Thune is no longer considering the SAVE America Act,” Luna said.
Just so America knows, after two weeks in recess, John Thune is no longer considering the SAVE America Act.
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 20, 2026
She wasn’t the only one confirming this:
🚨 JUST IN: Senate Leader John Thune is NOT CONSIDERING the SAVE America Act passing into law anymore, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna just said
“Just so America knows, after two weeks in recess, John Thune is no longer considering the SAVE America Act.”
This would be TOTAL BETRAYAL.… pic.twitter.com/4ckAlcmSUb
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 20, 2026
Since the Senate has returned from recess, which happened last week, Thune has spoken in favor of the bill — but mostly in terms of how those goshdarn Democrats keep thwarting efforts to have it put to an up-or-down vote not subject to the filibuster, despite the popularity of issues like voter ID.
“We’ve seen Democrats contort themselves every which way to justify opposing the common-sense policies in this bill,” Thune said last Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“Polls show that 80 percent of Americans support voter ID. Majorities of Americans in both parties support this common-sense requirement. But among Democrats here in the Senate, it’s a different story.
“Sure, Democrats have spent the last few weeks claiming that they support voter ID, but when it came time to vote on a reasonable stand-alone voter ID proposal, every Democrat opposed it.”
“The American people know what an ID is,” he concluded. “I guess we’re still waiting for Democrats here in the Senate to figure it out.”
However, Thune has spent most of the past week focusing on tax issues — which is natural, given that tax day was April 15 — and the Democrats’ DHS shutdown, among other issues.
Democrats have adopted the position of defunding law enforcement and open borders.
Republicans are ensuring that Border Patrol and ICE have additional resources beyond what we provided in the @TaxCuts so they can continue to keep Americans safe. pic.twitter.com/1877hWm6ub
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) April 14, 2026
Tax Day was last week, and many hardworking Americans reaped the benefits of the Working Families @TaxCuts.
More than 25 million American workers were able to deduct overtime pay from their taxes.
And more than 6 million workers were able to deduct their tips from their taxes. pic.twitter.com/taj66w5Mj5
— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) April 20, 2026
Which is timely, granted — but his promise to work on “other pressing stuff” doesn’t precisely have Republicans, either elected or just on social media, happy:
REMOVE RINO TRAITOR THUNE NOW AND NUKE THE FILIBUSTER!!! https://t.co/wSaFQRNSc9
— DP Nall (@DNall2315) April 21, 2026
Not even ONE senator has stepped forward for the American people…. We only need 5… they all pretend to be outraged on social media… but is is all clearly political theater….
YOU ARE ALL FAKE pic.twitter.com/lWeRx1R73C— Janelle (@Janelles84) April 20, 2026
But why should we be surprised? This is what he said back in February, as The Hill noted: “At some point, we’ll get it up on the floor and get it up for a vote. I just can’t guarantee an outcome or result … we have a lot of other stuff to do.”
This is the most important piece of legislation the GOP has this Congress. If he’s got “other stuff” on his plate, perhaps the GOP should look at other people as their leader of the upper chamber. They’ve done little except pass the One Big Beautiful Bill, and the midterms are fast approaching. It’s time for results.
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