Thune says a filibuster has never passed a bill in the history of the Senate

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans have launched an examination of Senate Democrats’ decision against the voter ID law, and while it may not seem like what many want, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., said it’s the only way forward.

Thune is under pressure from President Donald Trump, the Senate GOP team, and a fervent online network of conservatives who want him to open a filibuster to pass the Save America Voters (SAVE) Act.

But Thune said the low strategy has never been successful in passing the law.

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“No one really knows how this ends, and the people who are there say they do,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Because it’s never been done, or at least it hasn’t been done in modern history.”

Supporters of the filibuster debate see it as a way to pass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and ensure that the SAVE America Act is passed. But it comes at an increased price for the room’s most valuable asset — floor time — which, during the ongoing shutdown, is not something lawmakers want to give up.

Thune added that Senate Democrats have considered the measure in the past under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and noted that “they chose to resist it in both cases because I think they felt that the price we were going to make them pay was not worth whatever they were trying to do.”

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President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, on St. Patrick, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“If I see a way, even if it’s a small way to get a result, I’d be more inclined to do it,” Thune said. “But we looked at it, we ran all the contingencies, we played it, we figured it out, what it would look like on the ground, we did the research, we studied the history, and we couldn’t find a single example in the history of the modern Senate where a filibuster actually led to the passage of legislation.”

Instead, Thune and Senate Republicans created a filibuster version that allows for unlimited debate but prevents an unlimited number of amendments from Senate Democrats that would significantly change the bill and that Republicans know they don’t have the kill votes for.

It’s not a move he made alone, either. The nature of Thune’s leadership style, which helped him gain a top spot in the Senate GOP, is to avoid collective decision-making and instead allow Republicans to reach an agreement on the plan.

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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was determined to make sure the Senate continues to debate his voter ID bill until it “passes well.” (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Still, there are critics who are unhappy with the plan Republicans came up with because it doesn’t lower the threshold for passing the bill. But the pressure that Thune received from all sides was not enough to make him avoid and pull the plug on the talking filibuster.

“I think there is a type of leadership expert who, one of his key points, is the leader’s first responsibility to explain the truth, so I’m trying to find out what can be achieved,” he said. “And there are a lot of people out there who are overpromising and making false hopes about what we can do here.”

The Republican plan saw the Senate engage in three consecutive days of debate on the SAVE America Act with the goal of forcing Senate Democrats to oppose the legislation. When that debate comes to an end it is still up in the air.

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Others, like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the bill’s lead sponsor, wants the Senate to spend time on the bill “as long as it takes” to wear down Senate Democrats.

“And if we’re not there yet, we need to continue to discuss,” said Lee.