GOP rallies around Thune after White House says Trump’s patience is ‘running out’

The White House’s latest dustup with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) landed with a thud Thursday among his GOP colleagues.

Republican senators, including those who once opposed Thune for leader, came to his defense and downplayed remarks from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that President Donald Trump’s patience is “running out” on the GOP-led chamber’s inability to pass the SAVE America Act.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP’S PATIENCE WITH THUNE ‘RUNNING OUT’ OVER SAVE AMERICA ACT

“The leadership job is hard, right? And if any president’s not getting exactly what they want, probably always gets frustrated with Congress,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who ran for leader against Thune in 2024, told the Washington Examiner. “He’s busting his butt. He’s working hard.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who previously backed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for leader, noted it was far from the first time Trump or White House officials have aired public grievances over the Senate failing to advance the party’s House-passed voter ID and elections bill.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily anything new,” Hawley told the Washington Examiner. “I don’t think [Trump] cares about the niceties of Senate procedure — not because he doesn’t understand it, but because that’s not his problem. I think he’s trying to send a message.”

Leavitt made her comments to reporters and expressed that it was Trump’s desire for the Senate to pass the proposal, which would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a national standard for photo IDs at the ballot box, by the August recess. But the 53-47 Republican-controlled chamber lacks the GOP votes, much less the Democratic ones, to overcome a filibuster. The quandary has fueled Trump’s calls to nuke the 60-vote threshold, even as most Senate Republicans refuse to budge on further weakening the legislative hurdle.

“His patience is running out,” Leavitt said of Trump. “He wants to see as much of the SAVE America [Act] passed as possible by the August recess. He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed.”

Leavitt added that voters “elected overwhelmingly Republicans to lead not just this White House, but also the House and the Senate. The House did its job. The Senate needs to do its job, too.”

Trump urged the crowd during a campaign rally in Georgia on Wednesday to call Thune and pressure him and opposing GOP senators to pass the bill.

Thune fired back at the White House Thursday, telling reporters that Leavitt or other officials “ought to get on the phone and get the votes,” if they still believe they’re obtainable.

“Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” he said. “And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone. Let’s get them to ‘yes.’”

Thune’s close allies also quickly came to his defense.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is retiring at the end of his term in early January 2027 and is among a quartet of Senate Republicans who oppose the SAVE America Act, said that “anybody in the White House who thinks he’s not a good leader isn’t qualified for their job.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) tells reporters the Senate has a busy two weeks of work ahead before the August recess, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

“Sometimes the messenger isn’t popular, but the bottom line is we just don’t have the votes,” said Thune’s home state colleague, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD). “It’s a good bill. We don’t have the votes. Takes 60 votes.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a centrist up for reelection in a battleground race who is also against the proposal, added, “I think [Thune] enjoys well-deserved support from the Congress.”

THUNE FIRES BACK AFTER WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP’S PATIENCE IS ‘RUNNING OUT’ ON SAVE AMERICA ACT: ‘GET THE VOTES’

Some Senate Republicans, including Thune, have suggested the party could try to pass portions of the measure in a broader party-line reconciliation package recently advanced by the House. Hawley suggested another avenue to up the pressure on Republicans who are against it would be to hold more votes doomed to fail, a floor tactic Thune has purposefully avoided that would put vulnerable members such as Collins in a tough spot.

Trump is “trying to send the message to the Senate that — just find a way to get it done,” Hawley said.

Naomi Lim contributed to this report.

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