Trump’s Patience With Thune ‘is Running Out’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Thursday that President Donald Trump's patience with Senate Majority Leader John Thune is wearing thin, as Republicans struggle to advance his voting overhaul legislation before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess.

"Look, the president spoke about this directly yesterday," Leavitt said when asked about Thune and the stalled SAVE America Act. "His patience is running out,” Leavitt said — rhetoric that escalates warnings Trump had already begun delivering on social media.

While House Republicans have largely aligned themselves with Trump's legislative priorities, Thune has been unable to rally his caucus to move the legislation forward, saying repeatedly that he simply does not have the votes. Trump has repeatedly pressed Thune to get rid of the filibuster in order to move the bill forward, a rubicon Thune has said there isn't support within the conference for crossing.

And with each passing month Trump’s frustration has grown, taking to rallies and Truth Social to vent his displeasure.

“The Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die,” Trump said in Georgia on Wednesday. “We’re not going to take this any longer, we’re not going to take it. I’m trying to be nice.”

On Thursday, Thune — clear-eyed about the realities of the conference’s Senate margins — suggested in response that the White House should “get on the phone” instead of “pointing fingers.” "Well maybe [Leavitt] or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes, right?” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “It's 50 around here, and so instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats, and if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone."

The House on Wednesday passed the latest version of a reconciliation bill that includes $10 billion to incentivize states to adopt portions of Trump’s voting overhaul, called the SAVE America Act.

Trump wants the legislation to add proof of citizenship and photo ID requirements to voting, as well as dramatically cut back on the use of mail voting across the country.

But the bill is unlikely to meet the parliamentary standard for reconciliation bills in the Senate.

"He wants to see as much of the SAVE America passed as possible by the August recess," Leavitt said. "He knows that's what the American people want to see passed."

Leavitt pointed to Trump's rally on Wednesday as evidence of public support of the bill, saying proposals such as voter ID received "very loud applause" from the crowd.

"The everyday Americans … want proof of citizenship in our elections,” Leavitt said. “ "The House did its job. The Senate needs to do its job, too."

Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed to this report.