Thune Skips SAVE Act Vote: Surrender or No Votes?
Thune walks away from a SAVE Act clash while both camps claim the math proves them right.
GOP leadership refused to force a 60-vote SAVE Act test or scrap the filibuster. Critics accuse Thune of folding on purpose; supporters say he simply lacked the 50 votes needed for either move.
Why these scores — Side A relies on motive claims without vote tallies; Side B cites Thune's headcount but offers no public list. Corroborated by two X accounts trading accusations, yet neither posted whip data or Senate records.
Thune sent senators home without scheduling a SAVE Act vote that would have required 60 supporters or a rules change nobody had lined up.
Side A argues leadership picked comfort over combat, refusing both a direct confrontation and the nuclear option to end debate. Side B counters that Thune counted correctly and saw no path to 50, let alone 60, so staging a loss served no purpose.
Public posts from both accounts show the split: one frames inaction as deliberate defeat, the other as basic arithmetic. No new whip counts or floor statements have surfaced to settle which reading matches the actual headcount.
Thune chose neither option and went home, proving leadership prefers losing quietly to fighting Democrats on the SAVE Act.
- @GigaBeers✓ verified“Thune picked neither option and went home; GOP leadership choosing to lose on purpose instead of fighting Democrats.”
Thune counted to 50 and saw no majority for forcing the issue or ending the filibuster, so a staged fight would change nothing.
- @DefiantLs✓ verified“Thune is only one counting to 50; no point forcing fire on Democrats when votes simply aren’t there.”
Read it straight — Pull the latest Senate whip list or roll-call data on similar cloture votes instead of accepting either side's summary.