Thune accuses critics of 'creating false expectations' amid backlash over stalled SAVE America Act

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans launched a test of Senate Democrats’ resolve against voter ID legislation, and while it may not look like what many wanted, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued it was the only path forward.

But it’s a floor tactic that Thune argued has never proven successful in passing legislation.

"Nobody really knows how this ends, and the people who are out there saying they do, don't," Thune told Fox News Digital in an interview.

"Because it's never been done, or at least hasn't been done in modern history."
Thune added that Senate Democrats have also considered the move in the past under former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and noted that they "opted against it in both cases because I think they felt like the price that we would make them pay wasn't worth whatever it was they were trying to get done."
GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS' OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL
"If I saw a pathway, even if it was a small-percentage pathway of getting an outcome, I'd be more inclined to do it," Thune said.

"But we looked at it, ran all the contingencies, gamed it out, mapped it out, what it would look like on the floor, did the research, studied the history, and couldn't find a single example in modern Senate history where a talking filibuster actually led to a piece of legislation passing."
Instead, Thune and Senate Republicans are doing a version of the talking filibuster that does allow for unlimited debate but prevents an unlimited number of amendments from Senate Democrats that would drastically alter the bill and that Republicans know they don’t have the votes to kill.

It’s not a move he made on his own, either.

The nature of Thune’s leadership style, which helped secure him the top spot in the Senate GOP, is to avoid unilateral decision-making and instead allow Republicans to come to an agreement on a plan.

Still, there are critics who are unhappy with the plan Republicans landed on given that it doesn't lower the threshold to pass the bill.

But the pressure Thune felt from all sides wasn’t enough to make him cave and pull the trigger on the talking filibuster.

"I think there's a sort of a leadership guru who, one of his main points is, the first responsibility of a leader is to define reality, and so I try and figure out what's achievable," he said.

"And there are a lot of folks out there who are over-promising and creating false expectations about what we can get done here."
Some, like Sen.

Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, want the Senate to spend time on the bill for "as long as it takes" to wear down Senate Democrats.

"And if we're not there yet, we need to continue debating it," Lee said.