There's About to Be Some Prime GOP Betrayal on the SAVE Act
Matt Vespa
Brace yourselves, guys. Wednesday is going to be one of epic disappointment. The SAVE Act, which President Trump has made a top legislative priority, even going so far as to threaten Congress with not signing anything else until it’s passed, is likely to go down in flames.
Four people share the blame: Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Curtis (R-UT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). I forgot about Curtis, the so-called Republican who replaced the equally inept and milquetoast Mitt Romney, who thankfully has been put out to pasture. Again, it was an example of a deep red state choosing someone who is frankly just terrible.
Here’s the deal: we don’t have the votes. So, the GOP plan, or at least the one everyone should support, is to force a talking filibuster, a throwback to the iconic scene in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It shifts the burden onto the weak-kneed Democrats to sustain their obstruction, and if it fails, it can pass with a simple majority. Senators opposed to a piece of legislation have two chances to speak nonstop about whatever to gum up the works. During this process, anything can be proposed and logrolled into the bill, which makes for a mess, but one thing is for sure: invoking cloture, as of now, won't work, so a long slog might be needed (via Washington Examiner):
There are two ways the Senate can end debate and break a filibuster on a bill: cloture and the talking filibuster. The talking filibuster was the way the Senate had ended debate before the Senate cloture mechanism became a chamber rule.
Essentially, the ‘talking filibuster’ sets up a marathon of speeches from the lawmakers opposing the bill, in which a senator cannot sit down, leave for the bathroom, or stop talking. Each senator opposing the bill has two chances to speak indefinitely about their opposition to the proposed legislation. Once each opposition Senator speaks twice and all proposed amendments and motions on separately debatable questions are voted on, then the chamber would only need a simple-majority vote to advance legislation.
This allows the Senate to buck the 60-vote threshold needed under the cloture rule and requires the opposition to put up a significant physical fight to voice their opinions on the bill.
The opposition’s ability to speak indefinitely and propose as many motions or amendments as they can could make the process difficult for the Republican majority as well. The majority party needs 51 Senators ready to be in the chamber to vote on motions and amendments as they arise.
This ready attendance — for what could be weeks on end — combined with the GOP leadership’s need to maintain unity within the Republican caucus, has made leaders like Thune skeptical of invoking the talking filibuster. Thune has also voiced his concern over the large amount of floor time that could be spent on the talking filibuster.
“We don’t have the votes either to proceed, get on a talking filibuster, nor to sustain one if we got on it,” Thune said Tuesday [March 10].
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https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2026/03/17/theres-about-to-be-some-prime-gop-betrayal-on-the-save-act-n2672923
