Republicans signal no retreat on SAVE Act as marathon Senate debate kicks off
Senate Republicans dug in for the long haul as they embarked on their floor takeover and signaled that the hours of debate that crept well beyond the upper chamber's usual...
By Fox News · Fox News
Senate Republicans dug in for the long haul as they embarked on their floor takeover and signaled that the hours of debate that crept well beyond the upper chamber's usual twilight business hours were just the beginning. The GOP launched its plan to control the Senate floor earlier Tuesday and spent the ensuing hours lauding and defending the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act as Senate Democrats hammered the bill as a tool of voter suppression. But without Democratic support, the bill is destined to fail. And the vote to open the marathon debate session, which lawmakers predict could last days if not weeks, was an indicator that the support did not exist in the upper chamber to pass the SAVE America Act. GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS' OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL Still, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the bill’s sponsor in the upper chamber and the lawmaker who led lobbying efforts with Senate Republican leadership to get the bill on the floor, argued late Tuesday night that Senate Republicans would be remiss to waste the opportunity ahead of them. "This is our moment," Lee said. "Stand for a simple principle; let the American people see who is willing to defend their sacred right to vote and who is not." Several other lawmakers took to the floor throughout the late afternoon and evening, with debate often weaving in and out of the topic at hand and stretching into other matters of the day, like President Donald Trump’s war in Iran or honoring the Ohio service members who died in a midair refueling mission in the Middle East. Democrats charged that the bill went far beyond just voter ID and was designed to suppress a plethora of groups from voting. TRUMP VOTER ID PUSH FACES SENATE TEST AS GOP REBELS THREATEN TO SINK BILL Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., accused Republicans of using the floor exercise to distract from other pressing issues. "Instead of focusing on the affordability crisis or trying to save us from endless…