Thune responds to Leavitt quip that Trump’s patience with him ‘running out’ over SAVE America Act

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) bristled when asked Thursday about White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s statement that President Trump’s “patience is running out” with the Senate GOP leader because of the stalled SAVE America Act.

“Maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes. Right? It’s 50 around here,” Thune shot back when asked about Leavitt’s statement to reporters at a press briefing earlier Thursday.

“Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” the senator added, appearing somewhat irritated by the critical comment. “And if there are Republicans they think are gettable, get on the phone.”

Leavitt said Trump’s patience with Thune’s handling of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which the Senate has voted on — in whole or in part — at least five times but has failed to move forward, is wearing thin.

The remark comes as the president has ramped up his push for Republicans to support the voter ID bill, legislation that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo ID when casting ballots.

“The president spoke about this directly yesterday,” she told reporters. “His patience is running out.

“He wants to see as much of the SAVE America passed as possible by the August recess. He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed. He was just traveling on the road yesterday, spoke about this, and there was a very loud applause from the people in the audience, the everyday Americans, because voter ID is common sense,” Leavitt continued. “They want proof of citizenship in our elections, and the president feels very strongly about that.”

“The House did its job, the Senate needs to do its job too,” she added.

Trump complained about the lack of action in the Senate during a trip to Georgia Wednesday and suggested he is holding back on his criticism of Senate Republicans.

“The Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die,” the president grumbled. “We’re not going to take this any longer; we’re not going to take it. I’m trying to be nice.”

The House on Wednesday passed a budget framework that would set the stage for passing a $95 billion reconciliation package, including $10 billion for election-related reforms, but the measure has an uncertain future in the Senate.

Thune said Thursday he doesn’t have 50 GOP votes right now to advance the House-passed budget measure.

“As I’ve said before, you got to get to 50, and I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution,” the Republican leader said when asked about the House-passed budget resolution.

“We’ll see. We’ll have those conversations with the conference. The priority is funding the government. To me that’s the thing we got to keep our eyes on,” he added.

Thune also told reporters earlier in the week that he would “hold” a House-passed budget resolution in the Senate to use as a possible vehicle to pass a short-term government funding resolution in September.