Free Republic

Washington — Senate Majority Leader John Thune made clear Tuesday that an elections bill known as the SAVE America Act faces an unlikely path to passage, reiterating his skepticism about the bill's chances as President Trump threatens a legislative blockade until Congress approves the measure."There are no easy ways to do this," Thune told reporters Tuesday. "Believe me, we've examined all the options."The legislation, which the House passed last month, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, along with photo ID to cast a ballot. But Mr. Trump has demanded that the legislation go farther and ban all...

Conservative icon and Hollywood legend James Woods has announced he’s ditching the Republican Party. Woods, a fierce patriot and vocal supporter of President Trump, blasted the “uniparty traitors” in a fiery post on X, declaring, “I am done with the Republican Party.” Woods’ decision comes amid growing frustration with Senate Republican leadership, particularly cowardly Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who has continuously stalled the crucial SAVE Act, a bill designed to safeguard American elections by requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. Without this measure, Woods warns, the floodgates will remain open for election fraud, illegal aliens pouring in,...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday to deliver a swift endorsement of Texas Sen. John Cornyn to potentially forestall what is widely expected to be an expensive and nasty primary runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Thune told reporters he hasn’t yet spoken to Trump since the election returns from Tuesday’s primary came in but indicated he intends to personally redouble his efforts, saying Wednesday that “hopefully” the president will give Cornyn his influential nod. “[If] Trump endorses early, it saves everybody a lot of money, and … 10 weeks of a spirited campaign...

“The SAVE Act can pass today under existing procedure. The obstacle is not the filibuster. It is the habit of surrendering to a myth." Alex Muse on X. [Susan Rice video at source link] Lunacy proceeds from crime. In case you wonder why half the country has gone crazy, seek no further than Susan Rice’s stark warning to the other half of the country that is not crazy. Ms. Rice was Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor and then “Joe Biden’s” Domestic Policy Advisor. She did a podcast last week with Preet Bharaha, former US Attorney in the SDNY, now a...

Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee implored his colleagues Wednesday to help him identify his fellow conservative senators who do not support the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. The comment comes after Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned earlier Wednesday that the Republican conference in the upper chamber was not unified on the prospect of using the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE Act. "Not unified on using the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act?" Lee posted on X. "It’s time to *get* unified. We can’t afford the consequences of inaction. GOP senators who aren’t supportive should...

‼️I just spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has asked me to add him as a cosponsor of the SAVE America Act We’re now at 45 Baby steps to SAVE America ‼️

The House this week is set to take up the SAVE America Act (the SAVE Act 2.0), an election-integrity measure that some Senate Republicans can’t seem to get behind even though the vast majority of Americans already have. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s office confirms the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register and photo identification to vote in federal elections, will hit the floor on Tuesday. While Democrats will spend hours making a mockery of truth and reality in opposing it, the legislation is expected to pass mostly along party lines — as the...

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) called on Senate Republicans on Sunday to move a government funding package without funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in order to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House GOP leaders to drop the Homeland Security appropriations bill, which would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), from the six-bill funding package that is due to come to the Senate floor this week. “Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward,” Schumer said in...

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy knelt on the Senate floor on Thursday to urge Senate Majority Leader John Thune to bring up another reconciliation bill. The Republican Party is weighing another reconciliation bill, with Thune saying a potential option could be related to alleged Minnesota fraud, Fox News reported on Thursday. Kennedy made the plea during a speech addressing the alleged fraud. “We need to do another reconciliation bill to fix the welfare system and stop the stealing. Stop the stealing. And we can do it with all Republican votes,” Kennedy said. “So please, Senator Thune, pretty please. As I’ve...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Wednesday signaled an end to further Democrat shutdown shenanigans with a move to go back to what he called the "old-fashioned way" of funding the government. Speaking to members of the press, Thune said that the "path to a stronger, safer America" is getting funding bills passed through the traditional appropriations process "instead of continuing resolutions." The Schumer Shutdown, which brought chaos to American airports, cut funding to SNAP benefits, etc., ended after 43 days. 🚨NOW — Senator John Thune says government is going to operate the OLD—FASHIONED way!By passing appropriation bills instead...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune finally got the eight Democrats/Independents he needed to vote in favor of a Continuing Resolution that will allow the government to reopen. Tonight’s vote was just one step — though a critically important one — in a process that could take several days to play out. Among other things, the CR is different from the one that passed the House on September 19 so the House will have to vote on it again.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is blazing forward with a controversial move to repeal California's EV mandate — and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is warning it will come back to bite him.Why it matters: Schumer (D-N.Y.) all but threatened to deploy similar strategies to get around opinions by key, nonpartisan rule makers if and when he grabs back control of the chamber."What goes around comes around," Schumer said on Tuesday. He and other Democratic leaders have described the GOP move as a "nuclear option."Thune (R-S.D.) accused Democrats of "throwing a tantrum."Driving the news: The Senate will vote as soon as...

As we were warned, Senator Thune is blocking President Trump from making recess appointments by conducting pro forma sessions. Is he really a Republican? We are seven months into Trump’s term, and he doesn’t have his judges and over a hundred of his key appointments. McConnell went home early, and the die was cast. What an absolute disgrace. Thune’s procedural games expose the swamp for what it is. They care about preserving their power and engaging in Senate gamesmanship while agencies are leaderless.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) fired a warning shot at Democrats amid calls for the upper chamber to cancel its August recess and confirm more of President Donald Trump’s nominees. In remarks on the Senate floor, Thune explained how the Senate has confirmed 107 civilian nominees over the past six months — nearly doubling the pace seen during Trump’s first term. This is happening in spite of Democrats impeding the process by forcing procedural votes in which many of them end up supporting the nominees in significant numbers, he added. Thune described what he called a “historic level of...

Nothing will ever be easy with congressional Republicans. The reconciliation package aged all of us 35 years, as Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had to whip votes, hold the line, and make some phone calls. President Trump was also working the phones heavily when final passage was at stake in the House. Republican leadership held the line, but with Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) retiring after the reconciliation vote, delivering what’s left of the Trump agenda before the 2026 midterms is about to get even tougher. The House did its job and passed the rescission package, but...

Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, was not briefed before the US strikes on Iran — even though his GOP counterpart on the panel, Chairman Rick Crawford, was in contact with the White House, per a person familiar. Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, also was not briefed before the attack, per a source familiar, but the GOP chairman, Tom Cotton, was briefed. Both Democrats are in the “Gang of Eight,” which typically would be briefed before a significant US military engagement. The Gang of Eight includes the House and Senate...

Without intervention, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Budge will be separated from the Army on September 1 for his objection to the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 shot in 2021, which was determined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to be “unlawful as implemented.” In March, with the hope of restoring his career, the Black Hawk helicopter pilot was advised by Gen. Randy George, the Army’s Chief of Staff, to submit his request for relief to the Board for Correction of Military Records (BCMR). And at the time, the general promised he would “get it fixed,” CW3 told The Gateway...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) argued Tuesday that it’s too early for Congress to consider legislation that aims to prevent President Trump from using military force against Iran. “I think we’re getting the cart ahead of the horse here,” Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked if he would allow a war powers resolution to come up for a vote on the Senate floor. “This is something that’s happened the last few days,” the South Dakota Republican said of the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. “I think the president is perfectly within his authority in the steps...

On Sunday, Johnson made an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union and told Jake Tapper that there are enough Republicans in the Senate to “stop the process until the President gets serious about the spending reduction and reducing the deficit.” WATCH: How many other Republican Senators do you think share your concerns and are willing to work to make major changes to this bill? I think we have enough to stop the process until the President gets serious about the spending reduction and reducing the deficit.

Laura Loomer @LauraLoomer 🚨 ATTENTION MAGA 🚨 Why are we sending America First conservatives to Congress in 2026? To BACK PRESIDENT TRUMP’S AGENDA! Seems like common sense, right? Well, it turns out common sense isn’t so common in the Swamp. Right now, as I type this, Congress is failing us. The Senate is packing up to leave DC today while 91 of President Trump’s @realDonaldTrump nominees are stuck waiting for confirmation. THIS IS DISGRACEFUL! If Speaker Thune @LeaderJohnThune had the guts, he’d keep the Senate in session and CONFIRM ALL 91 OF TRUMP’S NOMINEES, TODAY! One man—President Trump—is working tirelessly...