Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pegram told viewers Monday that President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are at odds over whether the votes exist to advance the SAVE America Act.
Pegram, speaking with host Stuart Varney on Fox Business, put it plainly: the two men are not on the same page.
Trump has made the SAVE Act his top legislative demand, telling Republican lawmakers it is their number one priority and refusing to sign any other legislation until it clears Congress.
The bill centers on requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and mandatory photo ID at polling places, built around Trump’s long-disproven assertions that non-citizens vote in large numbers.
It would also effectively end mail-in voting and impose new requirements on women who changed their names after marriage.
Those provisions have left Senate Republican leaders privately skeptical about whether the chamber can pass it.
Democrats stand unanimously against the bill, meaning it cannot clear the 60-vote threshold required to overcome a legislative filibuster.
Trump and his allies have pressured Thune to change the filibuster rules to a “talking filibuster,” a format that would force Democrats to speak continuously on the Senate floor to block the bill, allowing passage by a simple majority.
Thune has resisted, saying the Senate simply does not have the votes to eliminate the filibuster.
Trump has also demanded the Senate cancel its upcoming Easter recess and remain in session until the bill passes.
Pegram noted Trump has pushed Thune to publicly identify which Republican senators oppose the legislation.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah has backed skipping the recess, and supporters of the bill argue they can outlast opponents and eventually secure a majority.
Over the weekend, a separate attempt to attach a ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports to the bill was rejected by the Senate.
Pegram reminded viewers that while Republicans argue elections lack adequate security, major studies consistently show that voter fraud in the United States is extremely rare.
Watch the full segment on Fox Business to hear Chad Pegram’s complete breakdown.
