With fewer than 50 days remaining before voters head to the polls in November’s midterm elections, pressure is building within the Republican Party to advance more of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.
Many lawmakers have also publicly urged Senate leadership to act faster and pass more critical bills—particularly the Save America Act.
During an interview on America Reports, host Dana Perino grilled Senate Majority Leader John Thune on the SAVE America Act while questioning him about Trump’s proposed $5,000 dividend to Americans.
“You did not have enough votes in the Senate to pass the SAVE [Act]. A lot of people [were upset] about that. Would you have enough votes to pass the $5,000 dividend to every American?” Perino asked.
Thune responded: “Well, that’s a good question, Dana. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
President Donald Trump made a giant splash on day one of the Republican Party’s first midterm convention last week.
Trump made an extraordinary economic promise, telling Americans they would receive a $5,000 government “dividend” if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Trump unveiled the proposal during a nearly two-hour address at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, presenting the payment as a benefit Americans would receive from what he described as the country’s economic strength.
He said the payments would be called the “Trump dividend” and compared the idea to a successful corporation distributing profits to shareholders.
Trump added one condition: Recipients would be required to spend the money inside the United States.
“If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000,” Trump said.
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Last week, Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy called on Thune to move more aggressively to advance President Trump’s agenda, saying he believes Republicans should stop waiting for Democratic cooperation and start bringing major legislation to the Senate floor.
Speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Kennedy praised Thune personally but argued the Senate leader has been too cautious.
“Look, I mean no disrespect. I love John Thune. He’s my leader. He’s got a big brain. He’s better looking than me, but I think he’s just being too cautious,” Kennedy said.
The Senate returned this week after being on a 5-week recess.
Kennedy said Republicans need to advance more major pieces of legislation supported by Trump.
Among those priorities, Kennedy listed the House budget resolution, additional defense funding, assistance for farmers, the cryptocurrency market structure bill, and legislation imposing tougher sanctions on Russia.
Perhaps Kennedy’s strongest push centered on the SAVE America Act, legislation backed by President Trump that would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections and would establish additional voter identification requirements.
Republicans have repeatedly attempted to bring the bill up for consideration in the Senate, but Democrats have blocked those efforts.
Kennedy argued the proposal is important for maintaining confidence in federal elections.
“In my opinion, for both sides to have credibility in our elections, we need to do two things and only two things,” Kennedy said.
He said voters should prove they are eligible before registering and that election results should generally be known on Election Day or shortly afterward.
“I think we can pass it … but we’re not going to know if we don’t try,” Kennedy added.
Trump has repeatedly urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act, legislation that would, among other provisions, require individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
Republicans have recently publicly called on the Senate to get the bill passed.
“It is more important than ever to crush foreign election interference. It is more important than ever to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a post to X.
Hans Von Spakovsky, an election expert with Advancing American Freedom, a conservative think tank, agreed.
“The president is absolutely correct that the SAVE Act needs to be passed to implement universal voter ID and proof of citizenship,” Spakovsky said.
“He is also correct that the only reason an elected official would oppose this is because that official wants to make it easy to cheat and ensure that aliens who register and vote are not caught,” Spakovsky noted further.
The SAVE Act has passed the House of Representatives multiple times but has stalled in the Senate, where Democratic opposition has prevented it from advancing.
Under current Senate rules, most legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, while Republicans currently hold 53 seats.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
