Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pushing back on reports that his working relationship with President Donald Trump has collapsed, saying the two men remain in regular contact even as they spar over the SAVE America Act.
Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Trump has called him twice in a single morning and also reached out over the weekend. «I've heard from him twice this morning already. He called me over the weekend, and so there, you know, we talk, I don't bother him, I'm not calling him every day,» Thune said in an interview.
The exchange follows Trump's public questioning of whether Thune was the right person to lead Senate Republicans. Asked about Thune's leadership last week, Trump said, «We're going to find out,» adding to already heated political tension on Capitol Hill as the Senate has struggled to advance the SAVE America Act, an election integrity package that Trump has made a top priority.
Thune said he does not view Trump's remarks as a personal attack. Both men, he argued, want the same outcome but sometimes differ on how to reach it. «Most of mine are constrained by what's achievable in an institution like the Senate that has procedural roadblocks to do almost anything,» he said, referring to the limits of moving legislation through a chamber where the filibuster remains a powerful obstacle. He said he is not worried about the relationship. «I know he's going to push as hard as he can. That's his business model, is to just keep pushing, pushing, pushing to get people to go as far as they can go.»
The SAVE America Act has become one of the most difficult items on the Senate's agenda. Thune said enthusiasm for the bill is intense among Trump, Senate Republicans and the party's base, and that he hears about it constantly, whether online or inside his own conference. The debate has consumed much of the Capitol's attention while the Senate races to complete other priorities, including preventing a government shutdown and confirming dozens of Trump's nominees.
The majority leader acknowledged that the current stretch has been difficult. «There are good days and bad days,» he said. «And around here, probably lately more bad days than good days, but you know you just kind of, like I said, keep your head down, do the work.»
Part of the challenge is arithmetic. While some Senate Republicans have voted against the measure, Thune pointed out that every Senate Democrat has opposed it in each of the five times it has been brought to the floor in various forms. He also noted that he was an original co-sponsor of the earlier SAVE Act, the precursor to the current legislation, underscoring his support for the broader goal. Still, he said, the votes are not there to advance the bill under normal rules.
One possible route is budget reconciliation, which would allow Republicans to bypass Democratic support, but that approach requires 50 Republican votes and party discipline to fend off what Thune described as disruptive amendments from Democrats. He expressed frustration with colleagues who have not accepted the political reality. «I keep asking the question, am I the only one in this town that can count to 50? Because it seems like these questions recur and there are a lot of people out there who haven't seemed to internalize the fact that there aren't Democrats that are going to flip and vote for this,» Thune said. «And there aren't 50 Republicans that are going to vote to nuke the filibuster. Those are two facts that are indisputable and unchangeable.»
For Thune, the standoff reflects the Senate's deliberate design. Unlike the House, the Senate generally requires bipartisan cooperation to overcome procedural hurdles, and each senator represents an entire state rather than a small part of one. «This place was supposed to be difficult, so that no dictator could master it, and I think that's kind of the role of the Senate in our system and our democracy,» he said. «It's important to keep that in perspective, but it's frustrating as heck when you're somebody who likes to get things done, likes to get results, and you've got procedural roadblocks holding things up as we try to wind down and get some things done.»
