President Donald Trump’s criticism of Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the stalled SAVE America Act escalated Thursday, with the White House warning that the president’s patience is running out as Republican leaders struggle to advance the controversial voting legislation before lawmakers leave in August for recess.

Voting Legislation Details

The SAVE America Act would require proof of US citizenship, like a birth certificate or passport, to register to vote in federal elections. It also includes provisions for removing noncitizens from federal voter registration rolls. Critics of the bill say it could restrict voting access by creating unnecessary hurdles that will make it harder to register to vote and wrongfully disenfranchise legitimate voters.

At a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, Trump blasted the Senate as “a place that you send things when you want them to die” and urged supporters to pressure Thune. “Everybody call John Thune. He’s the leader of the Republican party, and tell him to get this stuff approved,” Trump said.

Response from Thune

Thune pushed back on the White House’s criticism, arguing the bill lacks the votes needed to overcome hurdles in the Senate and suggesting the administration should focus its efforts on persuading lawmakers. “Instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol Thursday.

Thune has repeatedly said the SAVE America Act does not have sufficient support to clear the Senate. The measure would require Democratic support to reach the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. An alternative would see lawmakers voting to eliminate the legislative filibuster for this bill, something that could be done with 50 GOP votes, but more than half of the conference opposes doing that.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.