Thune Put the Senate on Vacation Without Passing the SAVE America Act — And the GOP Base Is Done Being Polite About It
At 5 AM Saturday morning, while most of America slept, John Thune moved to adjourn the United States Senate. He confirmed Todd Blanche — which needed to happen and deserved to happen — and then immediately moved the entire caucus out the door for a month-long recess.
The SAVE America Act is still not law. The filibuster is still intact. Democrats are still promising to destroy it the moment they retake power. And John Thune just handed every Republican senator in a competitive race a 33-day vacation with 90 days until the midterms.
Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Ashley Moody (Fla.) were among those objecting at the top of their lungs. It wasn’t enough. There weren’t enough senators willing to stay and fight to block the adjournment. The math was simple and damning: Democrats won’t break the recess, and 15 to 20 Republicans apparently prefer watching their filibuster get eliminated by Democrats next year over eliminating it themselves to win now.
This is the logic that has destroyed conservative political movements repeatedly over the past three decades. We will be rewarded for being ‘the adults in the room.’ We will be praised for ‘respecting norms.’ We will demonstrate our ‘fitness to govern’ by declining to govern when governing is hard. And then we’ll watch Democrats win, eliminate every norm we preserved, and wonder why voters stopped believing we’d fight for them.
The voters stopped believing because of mornings like Saturday.
Here’s what just happened in practice. Trump asked Thune to cancel recess and pass the SAVE America Act. Trump personally came to Capitol Hill. Seven senators said publicly they’d block adjournment. The president put Thune’s job on the line on Truth Social — “we’re going to find out” — and Thune found out that at 5 AM with the minimum number of bodies in the chamber, he could get what he wanted. He wanted to go home.
The SAVE America Act has 83% public support. New Jersey found 6,600 noncitizens on its voter rolls. A British national pleaded guilty in Texas to voting in five elections over twelve years. The Arizona hacker confession just came out. Virginia paused noncitizen removal for 90 days before elections. The evidence is documented, mounting, and urgent.
And John Thune just gave the Republican base a month to think about all the things he didn’t do.
No one cares about institutional deference anymore. The SAVE America Act could’ve been passed if the filibuster had been nuked, but these ‘traditional Republicans’ and their laughable affinity for the old days are what’s going to destroy us.
There’s one month. Democrats come back September 8. If the September legislative sprint doesn’t produce results, this recess will define John Thune’s legacy as Majority Leader — as the man who had everything he needed to protect American elections, had a 90-day window to do it, and chose to go home instead.
The base is done being polite.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
