Trump wears 2028 hat, jokes about running for another term
President Trump donned a 2028 hat and joked about running for another presidential term during his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is calling for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the Senate in session and not allow lawmakers to break for summer recess until Senate Republicans pass his voting restrictions bill.
Trump’s demand in a July 27 post on Truth Social comes as the president has applied increasing pressure on Thune to find a way to pass the long-stalled SAVE America Act failing in the Senate. The bill would require proof of citizenship and voter identification to vote in federal elections, while dramatically scaling back mail-in voting, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to ‘leave town’ until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER, where Republicans can then quickly pass everything they ever dreamed of,” Trump said in the post.
The Senate is scheduled to go on recess Aug. 7 and return to Washington on Sept. 14. Thune is expected to address reporters Monday afternoon.
Tension between Trump and Thune has mounted. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week Trump’s “patience is running out” with Thune amid the Senate’s inaction on the SAVE America Act.
Trump, in a July 22 speech in Georgia, urged his supporters to contact Thune over the legislation. “Everybody call John Thune at the Senate ‒ he’s the leader of the Republican Party ‒ and tell him to get this stuff approved,” the president said.
Trump says he has a ‘good relationship’ with Thune
Despite singling Thune out, Trump said he has a “good relationship” with the Republican Senate leader. “He’s just got to get his job done,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One on July 27.
Asked whether he wants Thune replaced as leader, Trump said, “I haven’t even thought of it.”
The president has repeatedly called for Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster, the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, to allow Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act with a simple majority in a chamber they control 53-47. Yet the proposal doesn’t appear to have enough support to pass even if the filibuster were eliminated.
All Senate Democrats have expressed opposition to the SAVE America Act. In addition, four Republicans ‒ Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Tillis ‒ each voted against a motion in June to add the legislation to a Republican budget package.
In a push to bypass a Senate filibuster, House Republicans on July 22 approved a $95 billion budget framework backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson that includes elements of the SAVE America Act. Johnson’s goal is to pass the framework through a budget process called reconciliation, which would require a simple majority in the Senate.
Yet the Senate parliamentarian could strike down an attempt to pass a voting overhaul as a budget bill. And whether a reconciliation bill with components of the SAVE America Act could reach a 50-vote threshold in the Senate is also unclear.
Nevertheless, Trump last week called on the Senate to adopt the budget resolution before leaving for the August recess, saying in a Truth Social post, “We are ready to work side-by-side with the Senate to get this done for the American People!”
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
