Establishment Put on Notice Over SAVE America Hypocrisy

Over the weekend, Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee spoke out against establishment Republicans for asking senators behind closed doors to stop talking about the SAVE America Act after publicly advocating for the legislation.

Lee’s remarks come after the Daily Caller reported that during a Republican Senate lunch, longtime conservative senators told Lee and other legislative advocates of the act to overlook the legislation.

While Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office refuted the remarks, Lee’s comments seem to confirm the outlet’s reporting.

“To donors: Pass the SAVE America Act. To Fox News: Pass the SAVE America Act. On talk radio: Pass the SAVE America Act. At campaign rallies: Pass the SAVE America Act. To Senate Republicans behind closed doors: Stop talking about the SAVE America Act,” Lee wrote about Republican Senate leadership.

Lee, while on “Fox News Sunday,” then blamed “lazy Republicans” as the reason for the SAVE America Act not passing.

The controversy comes after Senate Republicans, including Thune, have refused to invoke endless debate that would overrule the Senate’s 60-vote threshold rule, known as the filibuster.

In another post, one responding to Sen. Tom Cotton’s statement on Fox News that the Senate Republican conference does not have enough votes to pass the voter ID legislation, Lee contradicted the claim by saying that Republicans are “not powerless” and “should act like it.”

“We have 50 votes for the SAVE America Act. With the @VP, we have a simple majority,” Lee added in another post. “The fact that we don’t currently have 60 votes for cloture doesn’t mean it can’t pass. It just means we have to work harder to break the filibuster. We have to shed the defeatist attitude.”

Simultaneously, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced that President Donald Trump will attend the next Senate Republican lunch, which is scheduled for Wednesday.

Scott, who is a staunch supporter of the president and a hardline advocate of the voter ID law, chairs the Senate GOP Steering Committee, which hosts the weekly lunch.

While Scott did not mention why the president will be in attendance, Lee wrote on X after Scott’s announcement that the president will “not give up” on the SAVE America Act.

“Good chat with President Trump tonight. He’s not giving up on the SAVE America Act. Neither am I,” Lee wrote. “He’s as convinced as I am that we can get this done if the Senate’s willing to do the hard work.”

Scott quoted the tweet, adding that Senate Republicans are “going to work” with the president to ensure the legislation’s passage.

“If we put in the work, we can make this happen,” Scott said. “We’re going to work with @POTUS and FIGHT for the SAVE America Act.”