Sen. Mike Lee Says No Rule Change Needed To Pass SAVE Act

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee said Monday that the Senate can pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act without altering a single rule.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday that Republicans lack the votes to use a talking filibuster to advance the SAVE Act. During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” Lee dismissed the notion that enforcing a talking filibuster would require a change in Senate rules.

“No rule change whatsoever is required. And I cannot emphasize this enough, Laura. This is entirely within the Senate rules. In fact, this has been something that has been part of the Senate’s culture since 1789, since the moment the Senate was created and it sprang into existence,” Lee told host Laura Ingraham. “This is something that we can do without changing a single rule or a single precedent. And it’s something that we must do in this instance.”

The U.S. Senate’s tradition of unlimited debate—where senators could speak as long as they wished to delay legislation—dates back to the very first session of the Senate in 1789. The senator then took aim at what he calls the “zombie filibuster.”

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“The zombie filibuster, as I refer to it, is the filibuster that we allow, that allows people to have the benefits of the filibuster without doing anything. They can be asleep, they can be in a bar, they can be on some Caribbean island drinking drinks with umbrellas in them. But that is not a procedure that we have to allow here,” Lee said. “Not on this bill, not where the fate of the republic is on the line, not where the will and wish of 85% of the American people are aligned with this. We’ve got to do it.”

GOP lawmakers remain divided over how to advance the SAVE Act in the Senate, with some pushing a talking filibuster to force extended debate. While the bill passed the House, many Republicans worry the strategy could backfire or fail to gain enough support to succeed. (RELATED: GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno Outlines Why John Thune Struggles To Move SAVE America Act Forward)

The talking filibuster forces senators to physically stay on the floor to block legislation without changing the Senate’s 60-vote requirement or its rules. By keeping the Senate in continuous session and enforcing the two-speech limit, the majority can gradually wear down the minority’s ability to prolong debate.

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