图恩称，随着中期选举临近，共和党将迫使民主党“为反对公民身份要求辩护”
作者：亚历克斯·米勒
福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年2月16日 美国东部时间晚上9:00
参议院多数党领袖、南达科他州共和党人约翰·图恩（John Thune）准备就选民ID立法对参议院民主党人进行考验。
《保障美国选民资格法案》（SAVE America Act）已获得包括图恩在内的50名参议院共和党人的支持，这足以突破关键的程序性障碍。
如果议员们在参议院采取传统路径，该法案能否从参议院通过并送到唐纳德·特朗普总统的办公桌上，目前看来不太可能。尽管如此，随着中期选举日益临近，图恩希望让民主党人陷入困境。
“我们将会进行投票，”图恩告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
[舒默称民主党将“竭尽全力”反对选民ID推动，反对国土安全部参与选举事务]
南达科他州共和党籍参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，由唐纳德·特朗普总统支持的选民ID立法《保障美国选民资格法案》将在参议院进行投票。（迈克尔·M·圣地亚哥/盖蒂图片社）
他发表上述言论之际，正穿梭于家乡南达科他州，他和该州的共和党人正趁着初选季临近，大力宣传他们的立法成果。
图恩认为，在参议院进行投票的机会，可以让参议院少数党领袖、纽约州民主党人查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）及其党团解释为何会阻止一项旨在联邦层面确立选民ID和公民身份证明以登记投票的立法推进。
“我们会确保所有人都有记录在案，如果他们想反对确保只有美国公民才能参与我们的选举，他们可以在今年秋天与共和党人竞选时为这一立场辩护，”图恩说。
[柯林斯支持共和党选民ID努力，但不会废除阻挠议事]
参议院少数党领袖、纽约州民主党人查克·舒默和大多数参议院民主党人不愿支持《保障美国选民资格法案》，这使得该法案在参议院的存活变得复杂。（内森·波斯纳/阿纳多卢通讯社通过盖蒂图片社）
但如果共和党人想要通过该法案，参议院的政治构成将证明是一条难以驾驭的道路。
尽管参议院多数共和党人支持该法案，但如果没有至少几名参议院民主党人加入他们，该法案注定会因60票的阻挠议事门槛而失败。
舒默一次又一次明确表示，他和参议院多数民主党人认为这项上周在众议院通过的立法是压制选民的工具，会不当损害较贫穷的美国人和少数群体。
因此，参议院共和党人正在考虑他们的选择。
图恩已经对此泼了冷水的一个选择是废除参议院的阻挠议事规则。另一个选择是转向“冗长辩论”（filibuster）——即“站立阻挠”，这是当前阻挠议事的前身，需要对法案进行数小时乃至数天的辩论。
[费特曼抨击民主党人“吉姆·克劳2.0版”选民ID言论，党内团结出现裂痕]
唐纳德·特朗普总统在2026年1月29日华盛顿白宫的内阁会议上听取意见。（美联社照片/埃文·武奇，档案照片）
一些人担心，采取这一路径可能会瘫痪参议院议事厅。图恩承认了这一担忧，他之前也曾提出过同样的担忧，但指出了另一个变数。
“很多人关注的是无限制辩论，是的，这确实可能持续数周，甚至数月，”图恩说。“但同时也意味着无限制的修正案，也就是说每一项修正案——没有规则限制——所以每一项修正案都需要51票。”
他认为，可能会有多项政治上具有挑战性的修正案被提交到投票环节，这会使面临连任压力的议员陷入困境，并可能导致这些修正案通过，“最终也可能对法案造成非常不利的影响。”
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图恩没有完全否定转向冗长辩论的想法，尤其是如果这能最终让议员们通过《保障美国选民资格法案》的话。但在参议院，对有政治分歧的立法而言，结果很少是有保证的。
“我认为，显然这是一种试图实现目标的机制，但我不知道最终是否能达到你想要的结果，”图恩说。“而且在此过程中可能会造成很多附带损害。”
亚历克斯·米勒是福克斯新闻数字频道负责报道美国参议院的记者。
Thune guarantees voter ID bill to hit the Senate despite Schumer, Dem opposition: ‘We will have a vote’
Thune says Republicans will make Democrats ‘defend’ opposition to citizenship requirements as midterms approach
By Alex Miller
Fox News
Published February 16, 2026 9:00pm EST
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is ready to put Senate Democrats to the test on voter ID legislation.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has earned the backing of 50 Senate Republicans, including Thune, which is enough to break through a key procedural hurdle.
Whether it can pass from the Senate to President Donald Trump’s desk is, for now, an unlikely scenario if lawmakers take the traditional path in the upper chamber. Still, Thune wants to put Democrats on the spot as midterm elections creep closer.
“We will have a vote,” Thune told Fox News Digital.
[SCHUMER SAYS DEMS WILL FIGHT VOTER ID PUSH ‘TOOTH AND NAIL,’ BALKS AT DHS ROLE IN ELECTIONS]
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital that the SAVE America Act, voter ID legislation backed by President Donald Trump, would get a vote in the Senate.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
His comments came as he crisscrossed his home state of South Dakota, where he and Republicans in their respective states are out selling their legislative achievements as primary season fast approaches.
Thune viewed the opportunity of a floor vote as a way to have Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus explain to voters why they would block a legislative push to federally enshrine voter ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote.
“We will make sure that everybody’s on the record, and if they want to be against ensuring that only American citizens vote in our elections, they can defend that when they have to go out and campaign against Republicans this fall,” Thune said.
[COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER]
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and most Senate Democrats aren’t willing to back the SAVE America Act, complicating the bill’s survival in the upper chamber.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
But the political makeup of the Senate will prove a tricky path to navigate if Republicans want to pass the bill.
Though the majority of the Senate GOP backs the bill, without at least a handful of Senate Democrats joining them, it is destined to fall victim to the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
And Schumer has time and again made clear that he and the majority of Senate Democrats view the legislation, which passed the House last week, as a tool of voter suppression that would unduly harm poorer Americans and minority groups.
So Senate Republicans are looking at their options.
One, which Thune already threw cold water on, is nuking the Senate filibuster. The other is turning to the talking, or standing, filibuster. It’s the physical precursor to the current filibuster that requires hours upon hours of debate over a bill.
[FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘JIM CROW 2.0’ VOTER ID RHETORIC AS PARTY UNITY FRACTURES]
President Donald Trump listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Some fear that taking that path could paralyze the Senate floor. Thune acknowledged that concern, having previously made it himself, but noted another wrinkle.
“A lot of people focus on unlimited debate, and yes, it is something that could drag on for weeks or literally, for that matter, months,” Thune said. “But it’s also unlimited amendments, meaning that every amendment — there’s no rules — so every amendment will be 51 votes.”
He argued that there are several politically challenging amendments that could hit the floor that would put members in tough reelections in a hard spot and possibly cause them to pass, which “could also be very detrimental to the bill in the end.”
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Thune didn’t shut down the idea of turning to the talking filibuster, especially if it ended in lawmakers being able to actually pass the SAVE America Act. But in the Senate, outcomes are rarely guaranteed on politically divisive legislation.
“I think that, you know, this obviously is a mechanism of trying to pursue an outcome, but I don’t know that, in the end, it’ll get you the outcome you want,” Thune said. “And there could be a lot of ancillary damage along the way.”
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
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