Trump urges Senate leader block recess until voting bill passes

US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the chamber in session until it passes the SAVE America Act or eliminates the filibuster.

“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes the Save America Act or, far better still, terminates the filibuster,” Trump wrote on his social media company Truth Social.

The proposed SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections.

Trump has also called for prohibiting most mail-in ballots, with exceptions for illness, disability, military service and travel.

He argued that removing the filibuster, a procedural rule that generally requires 60 votes to end debate and advance legislation, would allow Republicans to “quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of.”

Trump claimed that Democrats would eliminate the filibuster on “day one” if given the opportunity and warned that whichever party acts first would “survive and thrive.”

Trump emphasized that a simple majority vote, rather than the current 60-vote threshold, was needed to address the federal budget and the “ever looming debt ceiling disaster.”

He warned that failing to act would lead to national decline, asserting: “stupidity always brings losing and death!”

While Thune had yet to respond to the public directive, Trump maintained that if Democrats were the ones to end the filibuster, the US would become a “Third World nation.”

Later asked about his stance on Thune, Trump said he maintains a "good relationship" with the Republican leader. "He's got to get his job done," Trump told reporters at Air Force One en route to Michigan.

Asked if he desired to see Thune replaced, the US president responded: “I haven't even thought of it.”

Congressional support for canceling recess

Several Republican lawmakers earlier voiced their support for the plan to keep the Senate in session. “I hereby object to any effort to put the Senate into recess in August—at least until such time as the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act,” Sen. Mike Lee wrote on US social media company X. He argued that the nation's need for secure elections outweighs the Senate's need for a “summer vacation.”

Sen. Rick Scott expressed solidarity with Lee, asserting that the American people “deserve secure elections.” Congressman John Rose and Rep. Ralph Norman also joined the call, with Norman stating there should be “absolutely no recess” until the bill is finalized.

Sen. Jim Banks told Fox News he is ready to cancel the five-week break to debate the legislation, noting that “it's more important than taking a break.”

Sen. Ashley Moody, who faces reelection in Florida in November, also indicated she would prefer to remain in Washington to finalize the bill rather than returning home for her election campaign.