Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have urged their colleagues - and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. - to use the Senate’s existing rules to overcome Democrats’ obstruction and pass the SAVE America Act. Lee recently made the case to Thune on X. “As I’ve been asking you to do for months, please bring it up now and announce that we will debate it until it passes.”
Thune rejected the proposal. “Sometimes when something hasn’t been done in 100 years,” he replied, “there’s a reason for that.” The majority leader has repeatedly argued that the bill’s proponents are “creating false expectations” by promoting an unworkable strategy. According to Thune, the Senate has never passed legislation this way - “it’s never been done, or at least hasn’t been done in modern history.”
The implication of Thune’s argument is straightforward. The Senate can end debate and pass legislation in only two ways: by unanimous consent or by invoking cloture.
