Overview
- The closed-door Senate GOP steering lunch scheduled for Wednesday will include President Trump at Sen. Rick Scott’s invitation so he can press senators to back the SAVE America Act.
- Senate leaders including Majority Leader John Thune say the bill cannot clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold after multiple failed test votes that attracted fewer than the required votes.
- Trump has explicitly linked passage of SAVE to renewal of FISA Section 702 and has taken personnel steps that delayed a DNI confirmation and prolonged a lapse in surveillance authority.
- Several Republican senators plan to use the face-to-face meeting to push back, arguing the bill is politically divisive, warning it risks the party’s Senate majority, and viewing Scott’s invitation as a slight to Thune.
- The SAVE America Act would impose photo ID and citizenship proof requirements for federal voting and add culture-war measures, a mix that makes bipartisan support unlikely and could force GOP leaders to choose between protecting surveillance reauthorization or pursuing a contentious election bill.