Senator Thune: Use the Nuclear Option and Save the Republic

There are moments in American history when political leaders are forced to choose between preserving tradition and preserving the nation. This is one of those moments.

The SAVE Act is not some obscure procedural bill. It is not another Washington messaging exercise. It is one of the most important election-integrity measures Congress has considered in decades. At its core, the legislation requires documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, and directs states to keep noncitizens off their rolls. It reflects the common-sense belief that American elections should be decided by American citizens.

President Donald Trump campaigned on restoring confidence in American elections. Republicans won the White House. Republicans won the Senate. Republicans won the House. The American people rendered their verdict and delivered a governing mandate. They did not send Republicans to Washington to manage decline, preserve Senate customs, or hide behind parliamentary procedures. They sent them there to govern.

Yet once again, the Senate filibuster stands between the will of the voters and meaningful action. That reality places Majority Leader John Thune at the center of one of the most consequential decisions of his tenure. The question is straightforward: Why should a Democratic minority possess veto power over one of the central promises of the Trump agenda?

Democrats have never viewed Senate rules as sacred when those rules stood in the way of their priorities. Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option in 2013 to eliminate the filibuster for most presidential nominations. Democrats used budget reconciliation to force through Obamacare and later employed the same process repeatedly to advance major spending initiatives. They treated Senate procedure as a tool to achieve policy goals, not as an end in itself.

Republicans, by contrast, often appear to win elections only to spend the next two years explaining why they cannot use the authority voters have entrusted to them. At some point, voters are justified in asking why they bothered electing a majority in the first place.

The SAVE Act enjoys broad public support because it embodies a principle that most Americans consider obvious. Citizens should vote. Non-citizens should not. Requiring proof of citizenship is not radical. It is not partisan. It is not controversial anywhere outside the political class that inhabits Washington.

Republicans should also recognize a political reality that cannot be ignored. Majorities are temporary. Midterm elections are notoriously unpredictable. There is no guarantee that the current governing coalition will exist two years from now. Every day spent protecting procedural traditions is another day lost in accomplishing what voters demanded when they handed Republicans control of Washington.

Future generations will not judge this Congress based on how carefully Senate customs were preserved. They will judge whether elected officials had the courage to secure the integrity of American elections when they possessed both the authority and the opportunity to do so.

The stakes extend well beyond a single bill. Americans are increasingly frustrated by a federal government that seems incapable of carrying out even its most basic responsibilities. Border security, election integrity, fiscal discipline, energy independence, and national defense all require decisive action. When every major reform can be blocked indefinitely by a determined minority, elections themselves begin to lose meaning. Citizens rightly begin to wonder why campaigns matter, why majorities matter, and whether Washington remains capable of governing itself.

President Trump has made clear that election integrity is a cornerstone of his agenda. Millions of Americans agree. The responsibility now rests squarely with Senator Thune. His choice is not between action and inaction. His choice is between fulfilling the mandate voters delivered or allowing Senate procedure to become an excuse for failure.

Ronald Reagan often reminded Americans that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. The same can be said for confidence in our constitutional system. Election integrity is not merely about counting ballots. It is about preserving public trust in the institutions of self-government. Once that trust is lost, recovering it becomes extraordinarily difficult.

History rarely rewards hesitation. Senator Thune has the mandate and the opportunity. The only remaining question is whether he possesses the willingness to act. If Republicans are unwilling to use their majority to protect the integrity of American elections, then voters are entitled to ask what purpose that majority serves.

The time for speeches has passed. The time for excuses has passed. Use the nuclear option, pass the SAVE Act, and demonstrate that Republican majorities still know how to govern.

Perry O. Hooper Jr. is a former State Representative, was recently re-elected to the Alabama Republican State Executive Committee, was the 2016 Trump Victory Chair, and is a widely published columnist who writes about politics, current affairs, and governmental relations.

Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Alabama Gazette staff or publishers.