Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is leading the push in the Senate to pass voter ID legislation and is pitching multiple paths that Republicans could take to do it. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Lee gave what lawmakers who attended the meeting described as an impassioned plea to move ahead with the bill, which would require voters to show identification, mandate in-person proof of citizenship when registering and direct states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
"Nothing in the Senate's an easy move," Lee said after the meeting. "This one's certainly not. But if we want to do this, this is how we have to go about it."
Indeed, Senate Democrats won’t support the legislation. That means the 60-vote filibuster threshold is, for now, an impossible barrier to breach.
REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said all options were on the table to pass voter ID legislation, including turning to the original version of the filibuster. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"It's not just me not being willing to do it. There aren't anywhere close to the votes — not even close — to nuking the filibuster," Thune said. "And so that idea is something, although it continues to be put out there, is something that doesn't have a future.
"So is there another way of getting there? We'll see."
In lieu of nuking the filibuster, which Trump has asked Senate Republicans to do throughout his second term, the GOP is considering turning to the standing filibuster, which existed before the modern 60-vote threshold.
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The modern filibuster is less strenuous than the standing filibuster, which requires lawmakers to debate on the floor. That route could paralyze the upper chamber for hundreds of hours.
Scott told Fox News Digital that during the meeting his colleagues were "starting to understand" the standing filibuster but noted that not everyone was on board yet.
"I think we ought to look at all of our options to get it passed, whether it's the talking filibuster or whatever it is, to make sure elections are secure," Scott said. "So, I'm not going to give up."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republicans-double-down-save-save-act