Senate Leader John Thune just responded to President Trump asking the Senate to tie the Save America Act to the DHS funding bill, and he basically rejects it.
He told reporters that Trump’s idea is not realistic:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says President Trump’s push to link DHS funding to the passage of the SAVE Act is “not realistic”
He told @Jackie_Koppell & other reporters “I think there’s almost unanimous consent (…) unanimous agreement in our conference on the policy, but the idea that we would have to guarantee its passage in order to open up the government, I think you all know that’s not a realistic outcome.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune says President Trump’s push to link DHS funding to the passage of the SAVE Act is “not realistic”
He told @Jackie_Koppell & other reporters “I think there's almost unanimous consent (…) unanimous agreement in our conference on the policy, but…
— Hannah Brandt (@HannahBrandt_TV) March 23, 2026
I think Thune doesn’t get what President Trump is trying to do here, strategically speaking. I believe Trump wants to add this to the bill to move the goal posts and force Democrats into the position of choosing the least ‘worst’ option for themselves, which would be to allow DHS funding if the Save America Act is removed from the bill. At least that’s how I read this.