Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss the border security funding bill passed by the House, the battles in the Senate process and efforts to advance President Trump’s agenda.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., has pushed back on President Donald Trump’s call to “immediately fire” Obama-era Senate nominee Elizabeth MacDonough, saying doing so would not pave the way for passage of the SAVE America Act because Republicans “don’t have the votes.”
“For me, it’s a math exercise…” Thune told FOX Business on Wednesday.
“The issue with the senator is one where, even under reconciliation, it has to be about the budget and not the policy, and SAVE America is not going to be at the 51 vote threshold. It would be at the 60 vote threshold under the rules, so you’re going to run the rules now.”
Thune pointed to a ruling in favor of Republicans last week, when MacDonough ruled that a Democratic-backed gun amendment would need 60 votes to pass rather than a simple majority.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., speaks to reporters following the Senate’s weekly luncheon at the US Capitol on December 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“But [if] it was 51 [vote threshold] would there be… an anti-arms amendment attached [to] that bill would put at risk its passage in Parliament and maybe put the president at risk of signing it into law, so you win some and lose a member of parliament,” he added.
President Trump called on Thune to remove MacDonough in a Truth Social post on Monday, writing that he “must immediately fire the congressman, who mistreats Republicans and everything they stand for!”
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President Donald Trump waves after his arrival at Ocala International Airport, in Ocala, Fla. on May 1. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Just the other night, for example, he ruled on a proposal that would have been approved easily, and should have been, by anyone else,” the president added, insisting that Republicans reserved “every right” to replace him to pave the way for the SAVE Act.
A Trump-backed bill would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
The president also called for a Senate filibuster, another option Thune mentioned during her interview on “Mornings With Maria.”
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Senni. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., discusses calls for congressional Republicans to use reconciliation to remove the filibuster from ‘Kudlow.’
“[That’s something] we don’t have a vote to do and, for that matter, it’s not even close,” he said.
“[On] some of these issues, it’s a close call, but almost none of the Senate Republicans agree to do that. “
