President Trump's latest target isn't a Democrat; it's his own party's Senate leader. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump's "patience is running out" with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, as the president's voting overhaul stalls in the narrowly divided chamber ahead of the August recess, Politico reports. The House has already approved a reconciliation package with $10 billion to nudge states toward Trump's SAVE America Act, which would tighten voter ID rules, require proof of citizenship, and sharply limit mail voting. But Thune says he doesn't have the votes in the Senate and has resisted Trump's push to scrap the filibuster.
Trump has been publicly venting, calling the Senate "a place you send things when you want them to die" at a rally in Georgia on Wednesday. "We're not going to take this any longer; we're not going to take it," he said. "I'm trying to be nice." Thune pushed back against Leavitt's remarks Thursday, saying, "Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes," the Hill reports. The White House, he said, should aim its pressure at Democrats and any undecided Republicans instead of "pointing the finger" at GOP leadership.
The bill is widely viewed as unlikely to meet Senate rules for a reconciliation measure, but Leavitt said Trump still wants as much of it passed as possible before lawmakers leave town. "He knows that's what the American people want to see passed," she said. Leavitt said the "very loud applause" from the audience at Trump's Wednesday rally at a Marietta high school was proof that "everyday Americans" support the bill, Politico reports. " They want proof of citizenship in our elections, and the president feels very strongly about that," she said.
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