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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) listens as President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for the Senate Republicans' lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on June 24, 2026.
(Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Trump Orders GOP Leader to Cancel Recess and Pass Massive Voter Suppression Bill
Experts say the so-called Save America Act would prevent millions from casting ballots by imposing onerous documentation requirements.
Jul 27, 2026
President Donald Trump on Monday pushed Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune to cancel the chamber's upcoming August recess and enact a voter suppression bill that has stalled due inadequate support.
"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," Trump wrote on his social media platform.
With the Senate's legislative filibuster intact, the so-called SAVE America Act needs 60 votes to advance—meaning Republicans need some Democratic support for the bill, which they don't currently have. Experts say the legislation would prevent millions of American voters from casting ballots by imposing onerous documentation requirements.
As the Brennan Center for Justice explained in a recent letter to senators, the legislation would "effectively require every American to produce a passport or birth certificate each time they register or re-register to vote." The Republican-controlled House passed a version of the bill earlier this year.
"More than 21 million American citizens do not have those documents readily available. Roughly half of Americans do not even have a passport. Millions lack easy access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. Millions more women whose married names are not on their birth certificates or passports would face extra steps just to make their voices heard," the group wrote in a recent letter to senators. "In addition, the SAVE America Act would eliminate or upend most methods of registering to vote. Mail and online registration would be essentially abolished, as would voter registration drives that add hundreds of thousands of citizens to the rolls every election cycle. Automatic voter registration would be severely limited in states across the country."
Trump's demand came hours after Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the SAVE America Act's lead Senate sponsor, urged Thune to cancel August recess, which is set to begin next week.
"The Senate doesn’t need a summer vacation as much as the country needs the SAVE America Act," Lee said. "Let’s cancel recess."
Thune has bristled at the Trump White House's increasingly aggressive pressure campaign, insisting that he simply doesn't have the votes to eliminate the filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act, a top priority of the president ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Last week, after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump's "patience" with GOP leadership in the Senate "is running out," Thune responded, "Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes."
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President Donald Trump on Monday pushed Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune to cancel the chamber's upcoming August recess and enact a voter suppression bill that has stalled due inadequate support.
"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," Trump wrote on his social media platform.
With the Senate's legislative filibuster intact, the so-called SAVE America Act needs 60 votes to advance—meaning Republicans need some Democratic support for the bill, which they don't currently have. Experts say the legislation would prevent millions of American voters from casting ballots by imposing onerous documentation requirements.
As the Brennan Center for Justice explained in a recent letter to senators, the legislation would "effectively require every American to produce a passport or birth certificate each time they register or re-register to vote." The Republican-controlled House passed a version of the bill earlier this year.
"More than 21 million American citizens do not have those documents readily available. Roughly half of Americans do not even have a passport. Millions lack easy access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. Millions more women whose married names are not on their birth certificates or passports would face extra steps just to make their voices heard," the group wrote in a recent letter to senators. "In addition, the SAVE America Act would eliminate or upend most methods of registering to vote. Mail and online registration would be essentially abolished, as would voter registration drives that add hundreds of thousands of citizens to the rolls every election cycle. Automatic voter registration would be severely limited in states across the country."
Trump's demand came hours after Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the SAVE America Act's lead Senate sponsor, urged Thune to cancel August recess, which is set to begin next week.
"The Senate doesn’t need a summer vacation as much as the country needs the SAVE America Act," Lee said. "Let’s cancel recess."
Thune has bristled at the Trump White House's increasingly aggressive pressure campaign, insisting that he simply doesn't have the votes to eliminate the filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act, a top priority of the president ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Last week, after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump's "patience" with GOP leadership in the Senate "is running out," Thune responded, "Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes."
President Donald Trump on Monday pushed Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune to cancel the chamber's upcoming August recess and enact a voter suppression bill that has stalled due inadequate support.
"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," Trump wrote on his social media platform.
With the Senate's legislative filibuster intact, the so-called SAVE America Act needs 60 votes to advance—meaning Republicans need some Democratic support for the bill, which they don't currently have. Experts say the legislation would prevent millions of American voters from casting ballots by imposing onerous documentation requirements.
As the Brennan Center for Justice explained in a recent letter to senators, the legislation would "effectively require every American to produce a passport or birth certificate each time they register or re-register to vote." The Republican-controlled House passed a version of the bill earlier this year.
"More than 21 million American citizens do not have those documents readily available. Roughly half of Americans do not even have a passport. Millions lack easy access to a paper copy of their birth certificate. Millions more women whose married names are not on their birth certificates or passports would face extra steps just to make their voices heard," the group wrote in a recent letter to senators. "In addition, the SAVE America Act would eliminate or upend most methods of registering to vote. Mail and online registration would be essentially abolished, as would voter registration drives that add hundreds of thousands of citizens to the rolls every election cycle. Automatic voter registration would be severely limited in states across the country."
Trump's demand came hours after Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the SAVE America Act's lead Senate sponsor, urged Thune to cancel August recess, which is set to begin next week.
"The Senate doesn’t need a summer vacation as much as the country needs the SAVE America Act," Lee said. "Let’s cancel recess."
Thune has bristled at the Trump White House's increasingly aggressive pressure campaign, insisting that he simply doesn't have the votes to eliminate the filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act, a top priority of the president ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Last week, after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump's "patience" with GOP leadership in the Senate "is running out," Thune responded, "Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes."
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