John Thune Lashes Out At Karoline Leavitt After She Says ‘Patience Is Wearing Thin’

News admin July 23, 2026 0 Comments

John Thune Lashes Out At Karoline Leavitt After She Says ‘Patience Is Wearing Thin’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) lashed out at White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday after she said the president’s “patience is running out” over the failure to pass the SAVE America Act.

The back-and-forth began with a question from The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese during the White House briefing.

“Look, the president spoke about this directly yesterday. His patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the SAVE America [Act] passed as possible by the August recess,” Leavitt said to reporters. “The American people elected overwhelmingly Republicans to lead, not just this White House, but also the House and the Senate. The House did its job. The Senate needs to do its job, too.”

A few miles away on Capitol Hill, Thune fired back, telling the White House to pick up the phone and whip the votes.

“Well, maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes. Right? It’s 50 around here. And, so, instead of pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats,” Thune told reporters in the halls of the Senate Thursday.

“And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone,” he added. “Let’s get them to ‘yes.’”

THUNE: “Well, maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes. Right? It’s 50 around here. And, so, instead of 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… https://t.co/lRL2Yl0Pd9

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 23, 2026

It’s the latest escalation after Trump on Wednesday ramped up his pressure campaign against Thune, urging supporters to flood his office with calls demanding action on the popular election security legislation.

“We have to pass the SAVE America Act to defend American elections. And I have to say, Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we’re having a hard time in the Senate,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia. “It’s like the Senate is a place where you send things when you want them to die.”

“We’re not going to take this any longer … I’m trying to be nice,” Trump added. “Everybody call John Thune at the Senate. He’s the leader of the Republican party, and tell him to get this stuff approved!”

Trump also renewed his call to eliminate the filibuster, arguing Democrats would quickly abolish the 60-vote threshold themselves if they regain power.

“The Democrats are going to terminate the filibuster as soon as they have a chance, and then they’re going to approve Puerto Rico and D.C. as a state. They got four more senators. They’re going to end up with 12 more congressmen. They’re going to get like 40 electoral votes,” the president said.

Trump’s remarks came hours after the House passed a third version of the election integrity measure by attaching it to the GOP-backed Stop Insider Trading Act, legislation that would ban members of Congress from buying and selling stocks.

The combined bill passed 232-198, with 13 Democrats joining Republicans to advance the measure, marking the first congressional stock-trading ban to receive a House floor vote, The Daily Wire reported.

Frustration with Thune isn’t limited to the White House. House Republicans who have repeatedly passed the legislation have also grown increasingly vocal about the Senate’s inaction.

“If John Thune has shown that he does not want to put the SAVE America Act on the Senate floor, he should step aside,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) said on social media. “There are plenty of other options in the Senate capable of securing our elections as Majority Leader.”