With fewer than 100 days until the midterm elections, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is facing pressure from within his own party to move more aggressively on the remaining pieces of President Trump’s agenda.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) delivered the warning Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” offering praise for Thune while arguing that the Republican leader has been overly 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. He added that Thune “wants to spend the rest of our time talking with [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer about shutting down government,” while contending that “the Graham Platner wing of the [Democratic] party” would prevent Schumer from reaching a deal with Republicans.
The Senate is scheduled to stay in Washington through Aug. 7, after which lawmakers are expected to leave for a five-week recess before returning Sept. 14.
Kennedy urged GOP leaders to use the limited remaining floor time to force action on several Republican priorities. “We need to put the House budget resolution on the floor,” he told host Margaret Brennan. “It’s the only chance we have to get money to defense, the farmers, and to take another crack at the SAVE Act. We need to add Iran to the [Lindsey] Graham Russian sanctions bill and vote on it. We need to put the cryptocurrency market structure bill on the floor and vote on it.”
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The House, before departing for its August recess last week, approved a stopgap funding bill that would keep the federal government open through Dec. 4. Kennedy and some other Senate Republicans want to attach the Trump-backed SAVE America Act to the budget measure. The proposal would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and present photo identification before casting a ballot.
Absent congressional action, government funding is set to lapse at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 30, triggering a shutdown.
Kennedy argued that tighter voting rules are essential to public trust in elections. “In my opinion, for both sides to have credibility in the elections, in our elections, we need to do two things and only two things,” he said. “Number one, you have to prove you are who you say you are in order to register to vote and to vote. And number two, however you decide to vote, that’s up to the states, we need to go back to having an election day, not an election month. We’ve got to know the results of [an] election that night or shortly thereafter if it’s close. That to me is what the SAVE Act is all about, and I think we can pass it.”
