Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) fired back after President Donald J. Trump’s top spox suggested that his patience is wearing thin over the failure to advance a critical piece of election integrity legislation.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act remains stalled in the Senate, where it has sat for months with Thune showing little interest in engaging in the necessary arm-twisting to get holdouts on board, putting the midterms in jeopardy for the GOP.
During Thursday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the continued inability to get the voter identification bill that has overwhelming public support across the finish line has the president fuming and ready to blow, and Thune will be in the center of the blast radius when he does.
WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says President Trump’s patience is running out with Senator Thune pic.twitter.com/a9DpUNA0H3
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 23, 2026
“The president yesterday seemed frustrated with Leader Thune when he was speaking in Georgia; is his patience running out with Leader Thune?” Leavitt was asked by a reporter.
“Look, the president spoke about this directly yesterday,” the press secretary responded. “His patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the SAVE America passes as possible by the August recess.”
“He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed,” Leavitt continued. “He was just traveling on the road yesterday, spoke about this, and there was very loud applause from the people in the audience, the everyday Americans.”
“Because voter ID is common sense. They want proof of citizenship in our elections, and the president feels very strongly about that,” she said. “And I would just add, you know the American people elected overwhelmingly to lead, not just this White House, but also the House and the Senate. The House did its job, the Senate needs to do its job too.”
Leavitt’s remarks ruffled the majority leader’s feathers.
“Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes. Right? It’s 50 around here,” a snippy Thune said during a Thursday press conference.
“Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” the GOP leader added. “And if there are Republicans they think are gettable, get on the phone.”
Trump dialed up the pressure on Thune during a Wednesday rally in the critical battleground state, telling attendees to “call John Thune” to urge him to get with the program.
.@POTUS: “We have to pass the SAVE America Act to defend American Elections… We’re not going to take this any longer… Right now, Congress is working to get as much of our plan as possible into the budget bill… everybody call John Thune at the Senate… and tell him to get… pic.twitter.com/uBzhGziRSm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 22, 2026
The public rift between the White House and the Senate majority leader has rankled some Republican senators.
“This idea that he can just command members of the Republican conference to get in line is just a fantasy. So I think it’s unfair,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), according to Politico. “I don’t know who it was that sold the president on this idea, that this was obtainable, but it’s creating a circular firing squad for Republicans.”
“John can’t put a gun to people’s head and make them vote a particular way,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a human quote machine.
“The Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die,” Trump told the crowd in Georgia. “We’re not going to take this any longer; we’re not going to take it. I’m trying to be nice.”
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