Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) issued a blistering warning Thursday that he would use every tool at his disposal to obstruct Senate business if House Republicans send the chamber another attempt to enact President Donald Trump’s election security agenda before the midterms.
“If I see a reconciliation bill come from the House with another failed attempt to confuse this election, I will use every device I have available to slow down the wheels of government until people cop a clue and do the math,” Tillis declared on the Senate floor, according to The Hill.
Tillis delivered the threat as House Republicans push to revive provisions of the SAVE America Act through a party-line package. The legislation is one of Trump’s top priorities and would impose nationwide voter identification and proof-of-citizenship requirements, along with new restrictions on mail-in voting.
The retiring North Carolina Republican argued that election officials would not have enough time to implement such sweeping changes before voters head to the polls in November.
“I have been trying to explain for nearly a year that the SAVE Act, whether it’s the SAVE Act, the SAVE America Act, the new SAVE legislation that’s being proposed in the House, SAVE goes to Hollywood, SAVE goes to Hawaii, whatever the sequels are, all of them are fundamentally flawed and impossible to implement by this election,” Tillis said.
The opposition is especially notable because Tillis previously co-sponsored the SAVE Act and has emphasized that he supports voter identification and stronger protections for mail-in ballots.
“I am one of the few members of Congress who has actually passed a voter ID law,” Tillis said in a March statement. However, he warned at the time that many states could not implement the proposed changes “in a responsible way” before the election.
Trump has repeatedly demanded congressional action, describing passage of the SAVE America Act as more important than virtually any other issue before the Senate. His proposal calls for photo identification, proof of citizenship and an end to most mail-in ballots, with limited exceptions. Trump has also urged Republicans to withhold cooperation on other legislation until Democrats agree to the election overhaul.
Previous attempts to advance the legislation have stalled in the Senate, where Republicans have struggled to overcome procedural hurdles. Tillis’s threat now signals that even a party-line reconciliation strategy could encounter resistance from within the GOP itself.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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