President Donald Trump just handed Senate Republicans an ultimatum: Pass his election integrity bill — or forget about summer vacation.
Trump turned up the heat on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) Monday morning, demanding that senators remain in Washington until the SAVE America Act clears the chamber.
“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president said an even better option would be for Republicans to terminate the legislative filibuster, allowing the party to pass the election bill — along with its budget and debt-ceiling priorities — by a simple majority.
Trump warned that Democrats would scrap the 60-vote threshold themselves as soon as they regained power, adding, “stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!”
The pressure campaign lands as senators return to Capitol Hill for their final two weeks of work before an extended August recess. The chamber is scheduled to leave after Aug. 7 and not return until Sept. 14.
Trump’s gambit is clear: Force Thune to either keep senators in Washington or explain why Republicans went home with one of the president’s biggest legislative priorities still collecting dust.
The Trump-backed package would require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections and photo identification at the polls. The White House is also pushing restrictions on mail-in voting, with exceptions for illness, disability, military service and travel, according to its official summary of the legislation.
The House passed its latest version of the measure last week after tying it to legislation banning members of Congress from trading stocks. The combined package passed 232-198, with 13 Democrats joining Republicans, The Daily Wire reported.
But the Senate remains the brick wall.
The legislation needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and Democrats have remained united against it. Thune says supporters are still well short of that mark — and he has repeatedly rejected Trump’s demands to blow up Senate rules.
Trump is no longer alone in demanding that senators sacrifice their summer escape.
“The Senate doesn’t need a summer vacation as much as the country needs the SAVE America Act. Let’s cancel recess,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X over the weekend.
Lee later pledged to object to any attempt to send the Senate into recess before the bill passes and requested a recorded vote, according to Democracy Docket.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also drew a line in the sand.
“I will vote to stay in session unless we have passed the SAVE America Act,” Scott wrote on X. “The American people expect us to deliver. They deserve secure elections.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) joined the revolt Sunday, arguing that the Senate should remain in session for “a few extra days” to try to break the stalemate.
Thune, however, has shown little appetite for scrapping the filibuster — or accepting blame for the stalled legislation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that Trump’s “patience is running out” and accused the Republican-controlled Senate of failing to do its job.
Thune fired back.
“Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes,” he told reporters. “It’s 50 around here.”
The clash has been building for months. In March, Thune said eliminating the filibuster was “not a realistic option” because Republicans did not have enough votes to change the rules, ABC News reported.
Keeping the Senate in session would not magically produce the missing votes. It would, however, make the standoff impossible to ignore — and give Trump more time to turn up the pressure on Thune and wavering senators.
With fewer than 100 days before the midterm elections, Trump appears determined to make Republicans choose between their vacation plans and a public showdown over election security.
