Sen. Thune delays SAVE America Act to focus on government shutdown

Key Points:

• House Republicans have advanced a budget reconciliation package that includes efforts to pass parts of the SAVE America Act, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune is prioritizing preventing a government shutdown ahead of the midterms.
• Thune plans to hold the House budget framework until a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government is passed, delaying the reconciliation process and the SAVE America Act.
• Some GOP senators, like John Kennedy, express frustration with Thune’s approach, fearing negotiations with Democrats could lead to betrayal, while others, like Katie Britt, emphasize the need to fund the government first.
• House GOP leaders argue that both the budget reconciliation and government funding can proceed simultaneously, but Senate Democrats’ 60-vote filibuster threshold complicates progress in the upper chamber.
• The SAVE America Act faces challenges in the Senate, including potential failure under reconciliation rules and insufficient votes, with Republicans largely united on avoiding a government shutdown but divided on the legislative strategy.