Trump pushes Senate Republicans to scrap filibuster for SAVE Act

Donald Trump headed to Capitol Hill to confront Republican senators who have grown increasingly frustrated with his effort to pull their agenda toward his own priorities, with the SAVE Act now at the center of a fight over whether the party will keep or kill the filibuster. The bill would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

The Senate’s modern filibuster rule gives the minority the power to block most legislation unless supporters can reach 60 votes, a threshold the chamber adopted in 1975 when it reduced the cloture requirement from two-thirds of senators voting. Trump has made the SAVE Act one of his top legislative priorities and has pushed Senate Republicans to eliminate or weaken that rule to pass it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said Republicans do not have the votes to nuke the legislative filibuster.

John Cornyn of Texas, who faced a Trump-backed primary challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton, publicly backed changing the filibuster in March 2026 to move the SAVE Act forward. Trump has also endorsed primary challengers to Cornyn and to Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, both of whom lost their primaries.

One-third of the Senate and all of the House are up for election, and about two-thirds of outgoing members in each chamber are Republicans. Trump has also pressed Republicans on nominations, surveillance-law legislation and now voting rules.