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Senate Republican Leader John Thune is signaling that Republicans are ready to use every legislative tool available—including budget reconciliation, to force the SAVE America Act across the finish line, even if it means bypassing Democrat obstruction entirely.
Thune: I think that budget reconciliation, as I’ve said before, you have to have a reason to do it. And if we have reasons to do it—and we may, very well may—I think there are a number of our colleagues in the Senate—we just came out of a luncheon where this was discussed—and I think there’s a lot of support for a budget reconciliation bill.
We have two legislative vehicles, as you know, available to us, so we could tee one of those up. And that’s an option. And we’ll see—if that’s what it takes to get some of these things across the finish line, and we can do it with simple majorities, we’ll take a hard look at it.
BREAKING: Senate Leader John Thune floats a RECONCILIATION bill for the SAVE America Act, needing only 50 votes and JD Vance
“This was discussed, there is a lot of support…that’s an option. If that’s what it takes to get it across the finish line!”pic.twitter.com/pL5KJVwQ9R
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 24, 2026
Earlier, newly sworn-in Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also dropped the hammer: Republicans are locking and loading the SAVE America Act for a full-steam-ahead push through budget reconciliation.
By using the reconciliation process, Republicans can bypass the typical 60-vote filibuster threshold, meaning they only need a simple majority, 50 votes plus Vice President JD Vance, to lock down our elections once and for all.
Although under the “Byrd Rule,” provisions must have a direct impact on the budget. “Extraneous” items that do not significantly impact spending or revenue are forbidden and can be stripped out.
As The Gateway Pundit reported last week, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) threw down the gauntlet, openly demanding Republicans use reconciliation to force the SAVE America Act into law.
Sen. Kennedy:
“I think we are, Mr. President—I know you are—we need to try to pass this legislation through reconciliation.
Now, you know how reconciliation works, Mr. President. It means we can pass this bill with 50 Republican votes and the Vice President to break the tie. That’s how we passed the one big, beautiful bill. I would hope to get some of my Democratic friends to support us, but we don’t have to have them.
[…]
Now, we’ve got a lot of smart lawyers in the United States Senate. Every single one of them thinks they’re ‘Oliver Wendell Scalia.’
But we’ve got a lot of other smart lawyers in America. Here’s what I’m getting at: we have yet to try going to these smart lawyers—some in the Senate and some, believe it or not, not in the Senate—and saying, “Craft us a SAVE Act that will pass muster under the Budget Control Act and can be blessed by the parliamentarian.”
Now, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has all but confirmed that this strategy is already in motion.
Markwayne Mullin:
Thank you. Lindsey Graham, the chairman where the reconciliation will funnel through, is committed to making sure we get reconciliation through.
If that is in some form with funding ICE, possibly backfilling from the One Big Beautiful Bill, but also, more importantly, the SAVE America Act—there’s a framework that we can use through reconciliation, paying for it and putting in some of the policies that cost money.
Because there’s nothing more important than the SAVE America Act. I mean, that’s what the American people want. Eighty percent of the population says they want only Americans voting—citizens who are registered to vote, citizens who have done it the right way.
And I believe that everybody wants election integrity. So fortunately, Lindsey Graham has said that, through reconciliation, he’s willing to put the framework out for that.
WATCH:
BREAKING: DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin just CONFIRMED there are ongoing efforts to ram through parts of the SAVE America Act through reconciliation
And it only needs 50 votes + JD Vance
“There’s a framework that we can do through reconciliation, paying for it, put some of… pic.twitter.com/0GrQkE2bpg
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 24, 2026
The post BREAKING: Senate Leader John Thune Floats RECONCILIATION Plan to RAM Through SAVE America Act — Only Needs 50 Votes + VP JD Vance to BYPASS Democrat Filibuster appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.