There's About to Be Some Prime GOP Betrayal on the SAVE Act

Brace yourselves, guys. Wednesday is going to be one of epic disappointment. The SAVE Act, which President Trump has made a top legislative priority, even going so far as to threaten Congress with not signing anything else until it’s passed, is likely to go down in flames.

Four people share the blame: Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Curtis (R-UT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). I forgot about Curtis, the so-called Republican who replaced the equally inept and milquetoast Mitt Romney, who thankfully has been put out to pasture. Again, it was an example of a deep red state choosing someone who is frankly just terrible.

Here’s the deal: we don’t have the votes. So, the GOP plan, or at least the one everyone should support, is to force a talking filibuster, a throwback to the iconic scene in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It shifts the burden onto the weak-kneed Democrats to sustain their obstruction, and if it fails, it can pass with a simple majority. Senators opposed to a piece of legislation have two chances to speak nonstop about whatever to gum up the works. During this process, anything can be proposed and logrolled into the bill, which makes for a mess, but one thing is for sure: invoking cloture, as of now, won't work, so a long slog might be needed (via Washington Examiner):

There are two ways the Senate can end debate and break a filibuster on a bill: cloture and the talking filibuster. The talking filibuster was the way the Senate had ended debate before the Senate cloture mechanism became a chamber rule.
Essentially, the ‘talking filibuster’ sets up a marathon of speeches from the lawmakers opposing the bill, in which a senator cannot sit down, leave for the bathroom, or stop talking. Each senator opposing the bill has two chances to speak indefinitely about their opposition to the proposed legislation. Once each opposition Senator speaks twice and all proposed amendments and motions on separately debatable questions are voted on, then the chamber would only need a simple-majority vote to advance legislation.
This allows the Senate to buck the 60-vote threshold needed under the cloture rule and requires the opposition to put up a significant physical fight to voice their opinions on the bill.
The opposition’s ability to speak indefinitely and propose as many motions or amendments as they can could make the process difficult for the Republican majority as well. The majority party needs 51 Senators ready to be in the chamber to vote on motions and amendments as they arise.
This ready attendance — for what could be weeks on end — combined with the GOP leadership’s need to maintain unity within the Republican caucus, has made leaders like Thune skeptical of invoking the talking filibuster. Thune has also voiced his concern over the large amount of floor time that could be spent on the talking filibuster.
“We don’t have the votes either to proceed, get on a talking filibuster, nor to sustain one if we got on it,” Thune said Tuesday [March 10].

There are pitfalls to this. First, it immediately ties up all business on the Senate floor. In the backdrop, Congress needs to find a way to pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for 30 days. Operational funds expired over Presidents’ Day weekend, causing TSA agents to bear the brunt of the Democrats’ foolish anti-Trump tactics. They’re doing this over the deportation agenda that’s already funded through the big, comprehensive bill until 2029. All this accomplishes is putting pressure on federal employees who are once again not getting paid. And Democrats would do this while we face an increased terror threat over Operation Epic Fury in Iran. Moreover, we’re dealing with a series of severe weather systems, and hurricane season is just around the corner: FEMA remains shut down.

It’s a mess

On our side, we’re down four votes from the get-go, and cannot agree on how to corner Democrats and hold them accountable for their stance on a bill that will ensure the future safety of our electoral system: only Americans should be able to vote. Somehow, that is a policy disagreement where liberals are willing to go down with the ship in opposition.

If you’re against it, it means you’re for cheating, period. It also ends the transgender insanity that’s engulfed sports and health care, too. It’s a comprehensive, common-sense bill with widespread support.

Let Democrats go on record saying that non-white voters and women are too dumb to update their documentation. It’s a prime event for a total roasting, but panicans, loser GOP ethos, and overall lack of fight are killing us here.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is doing the best he can. We’re not shy about attacking the leadership if warranted. We praised McConnell and filled him in the past, but the shots fired at Thune, for now, are misdirected hostility. I don’t like it. You should hate it. The GOP is going to sink the SAVE Act, while Democrats can skate by on shoddy talking points and maintain their cheating ways.

How is that winning? What are we doing here?

And what about DHS funding? There are some cracks, but not enough of them, so we’re stuck. I’d rather reopen DHS now and get this done later, but that’s not how the chips fell. This is upon us now. This vote tells us who our friends are.

Also, Lisa, you voted for these measures in the SAVE Act before, so what the hell, woman?

Q: “Do you support getting the Save America Act passed to protect elections?”

Murkowski: “Not as drafted, no. In a rural state like Alaska, it’s going to disenfranchise a majority. I support citizenship voting and ID, but I want it to be implementable.” pic.twitter.com/RZH1WgKke2
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 11, 2026

When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed. Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively…
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) February 10, 2026

🚨 WOW! Sen. Lisa Murkowski just got CAUGHT RED-HANDED as a hypocrite

- She claims she opposes the SAVE America Act because Republicans "have long opposed" federalizing elections
- Yet she VOTED for DEMOCRATS' 2021 voter reforms, the SOLE Republican to do so

CHANGE YOUR VOTE,… https://t.co/w7gJGFR5mz pic.twitter.com/fEX2eALC2X
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 11, 2026