Welcome to Washington: Senate Republicans, by Failing To Advance Voter ID Bill, Risk Trump’s Wrath

When the SAVE America Act comes to the Senate floor later this week, senators will kick off a marathon debate that is unusual for the upper chamber. The measure’s inability to advance in the Senate, however, is a foregone conclusion, even as President Trump insists on its passage. Once the failure theatre is complete, Mr. Trump will likely descend on Republican senators. Welcome to Washington, where the SAVE America Act — a bill which would require Americans to prove citizenship and to show photo identification before voting — will receive zero Democratic votes in the Senate. Even Senator John Fetterman, who supports a standalone voter ID law, says he will vote no. The president has demanded that Republicans put the bill on the floor for what is known as a “talking filibuster,” which would require Democrats to hold the floor in order to prevent the legislation from passing by a simple majority. He has gone so far as to say he will not sign any bill until the SAVE America Act passes. Senator John Thune, has made clear, however, that no such procedural maneuver will be used. “We don’t have the votes either to proceed — get on — a talking filibuster, nor to sustain one if we got on it,” Mr. Thune said, describing himself as the Senate’s “clear-eyed realist.”It isn’t only the leader who knows that Republicans would be headed into defeat should they use the talking filibuster. Senator Thom Tillis told The New York Sun that Mr. Trump’s demands are not only unrealistic, but hypocritical. “You gotta reconcile for me how, three years ago, we were lambasting Democrats for potentially nuking the filibuster to nationalize elections,” Mr. Tillis told the Sun at the Capitol. “Now we’re doing the same thing?” He was especially troubled by Mr. Trump’s demand that voting by mail be banned, with limited exceptions. “I don’t want the federal government to tell me that I can’t have … absentee ballot voting. I mean, that’s one of the easiest ways to authenticate people,” Mr. Tillis said. If Republicans did pursue the talking filibuster, the results could be devastating for their agenda. Democrats could peel off a small band of Republicans to amend the final bill. Everything from stripping Mr. Trump of his tariff authorities, blocking potential military operations in Cuba or Iran, or extending Affordable Care Act subsidies could be added. All 47 Senate Democrats would have the power to speak for as long as they want on any given issue. That would eat up months that could be used on judicial nominations, housing legislation, or government funding, while some of the Democrats’ top priorities could be sent to the president’s desk. When the Senate convenes this week to begin their marathon debate, the outcome will already be known. All amendment votes and the vote on the final bill will be subject to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. It will be almost an inverse of the talking filibuster that many conservatives have demanded. Under the talking filibuster, one Democratic senator would be able to ask that the chamber adjourn, requiring Republicans to be near the floor in order to vote the motion down. Under the current plan, Republicans will be able to call motions to vote on the bill. Democrats will have to be available to defeat those motions under the 60-vote threshold. No matter how long that debate lasts, however, the bill will not proceed to a final, simple-majority vote, meaning it will die in the upper chamber. Once that reality materializes, senators are likely to become the newest subjects of Mr. Trump’s ire. Mr. Thune says he has tried to convey the fact that the bill will fail to Mr. Trump, though it appears the president has not reached the same conclusion. “Well, we’ve conveyed that to him but we will continue to make that argument,” Mr. Thune said this past week when asked about Mr. Trump’s knowledge of the talking filibuster.

Welcome to Washington: Senate Republicans, by Failing To Advance Voter ID Bill, Risk Trump’s Wrath

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