Reporter's Notebook: GOP weighs 'nuking' filibuster to pass Trump's SAVE Act

"We need to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in America," said Sen.

Jon Husted, R-Ohio.

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And that is the conundrum facing Senate Republicans — figuring out how to get it passed.

That’s because Republicans can’t break a Democratic filibuster.

"This is one of the worst things we've seen in America in a very long time," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

SCHUMER SWINGS AT HEGSETH OVER KING CRAB MEALS FOR THE TROOPS, BUT BIDEN-ERA RECEIPTS SHOW SIMILAR TAB
"The real reason this president wants this bill to pass is to reduce the number of people voting in the November election," said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

It takes 60 votes to break a filibuster.

Republicans only have 53 votes in the Senate.

So some Republicans advocate parliamentary ballistics to obliterate the filibuster.

Cold War rhetoric permeates this entire debate.

In fact, conservatives implored Thune to launch a pre-emptive first strike to terminate the filibuster before Democrats again win control of the Senate — be it this fall or a decade from now.

"It's really about the only way I can see preventing them from nuking the filibuster once they gain the majority in the Senate," said Sen.

Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Other Republicans want to force Democrats to filibuster the old-fashioned way — until they’re exhausted.

"They should have to go hold the floor like it used to be in the old days.

They can go and talk as much as they want.

But sooner or later they're going to run out of time," said Sen.

Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

If everyone finally fades after days or weeks of debate, then the Senate doesn’t need a test vote to break a filibuster — needing 60 yeas.

That means they can pass the bill with a simple majority: 51.

Lots of Republican senators are now invoking the 1930s Frank Capra classic "Mr.

Smith Goes to Washington." That’s where Jimmy Stewart plays an idealistic senator who filibusters until he collapses in the Senate chamber.

"They should have to go out there, hours on end, like a Jimmy Stewart moment," said Sen.

Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

But most Republicans reject the Jimmy Stewart approach.

They’re not so much worried about unlimited debate during a talking filibuster, but the unlimited amendment process.

"The talking filibuster, I think will be a goat rodeo.

I mean, it could take two or three weeks.

The Democrats will tee up all kinds of problematic votes," predicted a skeptical Sen.

Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

"I haven't had anybody describe to me the project plan.

Here are the number of days.

This is how we counter people.

We've got all of our political flanks covered.

And this is how we succeed at the end."
But there won’t be an unlimited amendment process.

While Thune will allow the debate to go on for a while (Fox is told perhaps a week or more, perhaps around the clock), he will maintain "ball control." Thune won’t immediately tee up a test vote to end debate, needing 60 yeas.

But Thune will immediately block all amendments from both sides.

"Many of us don't believe that we should undo the filibuster because it holds the rights of the majority.

And one day we'll be back in the minority," said Sen.

Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

"It's a real splitter here."
"There's not enough numbers to get it done," observed Capito.

Trump and other conservatives are starting to dial up pressure on Thune.

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"I think he's a wonderful person.

I do," the president said of the South Dakota Republican on Fox News Radio.

"But it’s not that he doesn't want to do it.

He doesn’t think he can do it.

And that's bad."
Despite criticism directed at Thune, some Republicans are defending him.

But so far, no sharp criticism of Thune.

"I’ve seen John Thune pull rabbits out of his hat before," said Lummis.

"And I'm hoping there's a rabbit in his hat on this one."
The Senate takes a test vote just to start debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon.

That needs a simple majority.

It’s possible that Vice President JD Vance may need to break a tie to launch debate on the bill.