Thune: No agreement among GOP senators on talking filibuster

Source: The Hill

02/25/26 3:33 PM ET


Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Wednesday that there’s not enough consensus in the Senate Republican conference to increase the chances of advancing voting reform by forcing Democrats to wage an arduous talking filibuster in order to block the House-passed legislation.

Thune warned that forcing Democrats to hold the floor continuously with speeches to make it tougher for them to filibuster the SAVE Act would require getting 50 Republicans to agree on the strategy — and he said Senate Republicans aren’t there yet. “If we were to go down that path, it’s very hard to pivot and get back to open up the government,” Thune said, referring to funding for the Department of Homeland Security that lapsed on Feb. 14.

Thune said it would be very hard to advance government funding legislation or a bipartisan bill to make housing more affordable if Republicans have to spend time trying to break a Democratic blockade of the SAVE Act, which would require voters to show documented proof of citizenship.

“That’s harder to do once you’re in the throes of a talking filibuster,” Thune warned. And he warned that Senate Republicans are still too divided over whether to force Democrats to undertake a talking filibuster to use it to advance voter-registration reform anytime soon.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5755328-thune-talking-filibuster/