{"id":203607,"date":"2026-03-10T13:56:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/senate-republicans-splinter-over-save-america-acts-path-as-trump-calls-for-more-revisions-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T13:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:56:44","slug":"senate-republicans-splinter-over-save-america-acts-path-as-trump-calls-for-more-revisions-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/senate-republicans-splinter-over-save-america-acts-path-as-trump-calls-for-more-revisions-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Republicans splinter over SAVE America Act's path as Trump calls for more revisions – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON \u2014 The prospects for President Donald Trump\u2019s SAVE America Act grew murkier Monday as divisions deepened among Senate Republicans about how to pass it and whether it’s possible to overcome Democratic opposition.
Some say they\u2019re convinced a \u201ctalking filibuster\u201d<\/a> under current rules could lead to passage of the sweeping election overhaul bill, even though it hasn\u2019t worked before. Another GOP senator proposed a different path with less support. And the Senate’s top Republican emphasized that the path is \u201cunclear\u201d as the 60-vote rule<\/a> may be too difficult to overcome.
\u201cHaving studied it and researched it pretty thoroughly, you have to show me how, in the end, it prevails and succeeds. Because I think what has been promised out there is that it would actually, in the end, get an outcome. And I find it very hard to see that based on actual past experience,\u201d Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters. \u201cWe can\u2019t find a piece of legislation in history that\u2019s been passed that way.\u201d
Meanwhile, Trump spoke to House Republicans in Florida and called for adding new provisions to the bill \u2014 which currently includes new voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements, along with screening voters through a Department of Homeland Security database \u2014 to largely prohibit mail-in voting, in addition to unrelated restrictions on transgender athletes and gender-affirming treatment for minors.
He said he spoke to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the bill’s sponsor, about the potential changes.
\u201cThese are called \u2018best of Trump.\u2019 We should also add on to this bill. And so what I\u2019ve asked Mike to do is to draw a new one with these few things added and let\u2019s go for the gold. Let\u2019s not just get one, like voter ID,\u201d Trump said, predicting that if the bill passed, Democrats wouldn\u2019t win an election for half a century. \u201cThis is the No. 1 priority.\u201d
Lee has been a vocal advocate for the \u201ctalking filibuster,\u201d and he has marshaled an online army of conservative activists to try to pressure the Senate to attempt it.
\u201cI\u2019m willing to try that, too,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. \u201cI know the majority leader is not enthusiastic about that. He\u2019d have to manage the floor, but I\u2019m absolutely willing to try.\u201d
\u201cI know it would be cumbersome,\u201d Hawley added.
Asked whether pressure to act was mounting, Thune said \u201ca lot of that\u201d has been coming from the \u201cpaid influencer ecosystem.\u201d
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who is running for re-election this year with Trump\u2019s endorsement, said the first procedural vote on the bill will show where every senator stands.
\u201cI think there\u2019s a real value in letting the American people know who is supporting it and who is not,\u201d Rounds said Monday. \u201cAfter that, I think talking filibuster is a lot more challenging than some people think.\u201d
Meanwhile, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., suggested an alternative option: use the filibuster-proof \u201creconciliation\u201d process to cut out Democrats and approve the SAVE America Act. That path, however, is restricted to taxing and spending, as past election bills have been ruled invalid under the simple-majority threshold.
\u201cWhen I raise that issue, many say, well, I\u2019ll never survive a Byrd bath and the Budget Control Act,\u201d Kennedy said, referring to the limitations of the budget process. \u201cIt\u2019s all up to the parliamentarian and her team, and the way you get something through a Byrd bath is to do your homework, do your research, look for precedents.\u201d
It\u2019s a challenging puzzle for Thune, one that could lead to failure on a top Trump priority. He faces a daily torrent of pressure from conservatives on social media, many of whom are convinced the \u201ctalking filibuster\u201d is workable if Republicans try it.
And he\u2019s trying to manage his conference.
\u201cI got a text message from Sen. Thune last night,\u201d Kennedy told reporters, \u201csaying that we\u2019re going to spend a lot of time this week talking about the SAVE act, talking about divisions and talking about the timing and the procedure.\u201d
On social media, Trump threatened to refuse<\/a> to sign any bill until the SAVE America Act becomes law.
\u201cI agree with him,\u201d said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. \u201cIt\u2019s the most important thing.\u201d
But the revisions Trump demands include provisions to largely ban mail-in ballots, which don\u2019t have unified support among Republicans. And the new transgender provisions risk undercutting the party\u2019s message that it\u2019s an election-focused bill. Still, any changes would mean the House must pass the legislation a third time, after having had to pass it a second time recently <\/a>following previous demands for changes by Trump.
\u201cWe\u2019ve added two things to it \u2014 no men in women\u2019s sports, and no transgender mutilation of our children,\u201d Trump said Monday.
Asked by NBC News about nixing the filibuster, as he has called, Trump sounded skeptical it\u2019s possible, saying: \u201cSo in order to get it, you\u2019re going to need Democrat votes.\u201d
Spokespeople for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., didn\u2019t immediately respond when they were asked Monday whether he plans to revise the bill and pass a new version through the House.
Thune said that might be a good idea.
\u201cThe House, obviously, would have to \u2014 those are all things that weren\u2019t part of what they sent over here to us,\u201d Thune told NBC News, adding: \u201cAnd so it would probably make sense for them to send over another version.\u201d
Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.
Brennan Leach is an associate producer for NBC News covering the Senate.
Ryan Nobles is chief Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeWASHINGTON \u2014 The prospects for President Donald Trump\u2019s SAVE America Act grew murkier Monday as divisions deepened among Senate Republicans about how to pass it and whether it’s possible to overcome Democratic opposition.Some say they\u2019re convinced a \u201ctalking filibuster\u201d under current rules could lead to passage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":203608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-203607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}