Thune Says Iran War Has ‘Trumped Everything Else’ as Republicans Face Midterm Headwinds

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that passing the SAVE Act would have done little to reverse Republicans’ midterm struggles, arguing that President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has “trumped everything else” on voters’ minds.

The SAVE Act, which would impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements for federal elections, has become a source of tension between Thune and the president. Trump has repeatedly demanded that Senate Republicans pass the bill.

Thune, however, has maintained that Republicans simply don’t have the votes to overcome the filibuster.

The majority leader appeared on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Monday, where he was asked whether getting the SAVE Act across the finish line would have made a difference for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

The question comes as Democrats have opened their largest lead yet in NBC News’ Friday polling average of the race for Congress. Democrats hold a nine-point advantage over Republicans, 52% to 43%.

Thune pointed to economic concerns as the driving force in the races.

“Right now, the races are — it’s more about affordability issues,” Thune said. “It’s the price of diesel in places like Iowa and Kansas and Nebraska and the Midwest, Minnesota.”

“So, I think that’s the issue, and what’s happening in Iran has sort of trumped everything else that’s going on,” he added.

Still, the majority leader said the SAVE Act remains valuable to Republicans on the campaign trail.

“It would’ve been great to pass the SAVE America Act, but it’s a great issue for our candidates to run on because every Democrat block voted against it,” Thune said.

He went on to note how many times the legislation has been brought up for a vote.

“We’ve had it up on the floor now six different times in different variations, and every single Democrat, every single time on six occasions, has voted against it,” Thune said.

The president hasn’t been the only one putting pressure on Thune over the bill’s failure so far.

MAGA supporters have also been outspoken in their frustration with the majority leader. During a rally earlier this month, the crowd even booed when Trump mentioned Thune’s name.

The president quickly stepped in to correct the crowd and defend the South Dakota Republican.

“No, no,” Trump said. “John is working hard. He’s got great opposition. He’s got great opposition from the Democrat[s].”