Two Republican senators who had previously declined to support changes to Senate filibuster practices have reversed their positions, potentially increasing the chances that the SAVE Act could advance in the Senate.
One of the lawmakers, John Cornyn, had earlier stopped short of endorsing a procedural strategy known as the “talking filibuster.” The approach would require senators opposing legislation to continuously debate on the Senate floor in order to block a vote, reports said over the weekend.
The proposal differs from the modern filibuster system, under which legislation typically requires 60 votes to invoke cloture and move forward. Supporters of the change argue that reinstating a talking filibuster would allow a bill to proceed with a simple majority once opponents stop holding the floor.
If adopted, the procedure could enable Republicans to advance the SAVE Act with 51 votes, potentially including a tie-breaking vote by Vice President J.D. Vance.
Cornyn’s reported shift comes as he faces a competitive Republican primary challenge from Ken Paxton. Paxton had previously said he would withdraw from the race if Cornyn committed to supporting the talking filibuster strategy.
In a social media post Saturday, Cornyn said he supported the legislation and would back the procedural change if necessary to pass it. “I will happily support the ‘talking filibuster’ if that’s what it takes to pass this into law,” he wrote, while tagging President Donald Trump.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has publicly endorsed Cornyn in his primary contest, calling him a key figure in maintaining Republican control of the Senate.
The SAVE Act, which addresses election administration and voter eligibility requirements, has become a priority for many Republicans, though it faces opposition from Democrats in the closely divided chamber.
Meanwhile, Alabama Senator Katie Britt (R) pushed back against reports suggesting she opposed the procedural maneuver. “I have been working with [Senator Mike Lee] to find the votes and path forward to pass the SAVE America Act, which includes the talking filibuster,” Britt wrote in an X post of her own.
Last month, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman broke with Democratic Party leadership, signaling his support for voter identification laws, saying he does not view showing ID to vote as unreasonable.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and almost all Senate Democrats have turned down the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. This bill, which would protect the integrity of elections, passed the House earlier this week.
Schumer has called the bill “Jim Crow 2.0” because he thinks it would keep people from voting instead of making elections safer. But Fetterman, who has repeatedly disagreed with his party’s messages and positions, pushed back against Schumer’s framing of the bill.
“I would never refer to the SAVE Act as like Jim Crow 2.0 or some kind of mass conspiracy. But that’s part of the debate that we were having here in the Senate right now. And I don’t call people names or imply that it’s something gross about the terrible history of Jim Crow,” Fetterman told Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, became the 50th member of the conference to back the legislation in a development in late February.
Fetterman would not say whether he supports the bill outright. However, he noted that “84% of Americans have no problem with presenting IDs to vote.”
“So it’s not like a radical idea,” Fetterman said. “It’s not something — and there already are many states that show basic IDs. So that’s where we are in the Senate.”
Even if Fetterman votes for the bill on the floor, it probably won’t pass unless there are bigger changes to the way things are done.