Rep. Luna to Newsmax: Talking Filibuster Needed to Pass SAVE Act

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Tuesday that she is pushing a "talking filibuster" strategy to force action on the House-passed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, saying "the president even said it today" and "he wants voter ID."

Luna called the bill "an issue of national security" and urged Congress to "Pass the SAVE America Act immediately."

Asked on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" about using a talking filibuster and whether the Senate majority leader was reconsidering the 60-vote threshold, Luna said she had been studying the procedure over the past day.

"Well, you know, I can tell you that the Senate does have different rules from the House," Luna said. "But from what I've gathered and been able to research on the talking filibuster in the last 24 hours, I was made aware of it literally just yesterday at the White House."

Luna said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., "has stated publicly today that he's going to be talking with his conference about the talking filibuster," and she added that he had warned it "might take away other debate time from other important issues."

Luna added that she believed Thune "is going to do the right thing and will embrace this," and said that "after the president came out literally just today in the Oval Office and said that he wants the Save America Act passed with voter ID, that is 100% something that he is advocating for."

The House-passed bill would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

The bill passed the House on April 10, 2025, by a 220-208 vote and was received in the Senate the same day, with no further action posted there as of Feb. 3.

After the host cited polling support for voter ID and referenced derogatory comments comparing the bill to Jim Crow laws by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Luna responded to Schumer and defended voter ID requirements.

"I think Chuck Schumer was around in the Senate, probably during the Jim Crow era laws," Luna said, adding that "it was his party that pushed that look for them to call voter ID racist when you literally see the stats."

"Even CNN was forced to report that Black, Hispanic, Asian, and white Americans want voter ID," she said. "I mean, it's literally as popular as banning insider trading."

Luna added, "I think that Thune will do the right thing. The president even said it today. He wants a voter ID, and Thune said he's bringing this to the conference. So I think it's going to happen."

Pressed on whether the Senate could move the bill without changing the filibuster, Luna said she did not expect the rule itself to be eliminated.

"Well, look, the filibuster right now, there's nothing that's going to happen to remove the filibuster," Luna said. "The votes simply aren't there from Republican senators for that."

"However, the filibuster is a way to work through that," she said, adding, "I do think right now there's a lot of very smart people in the Senate that are working on this, to include many senators that I've talked to. And I think the president is on board with it."

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