Elon Musk has joined a growing group of conservatives urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to force Democrats into a “talking filibuster” in order to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship and photo ID to vote in federal elections.
“The filibuster rule is meant to allow senators to present their arguments before a bill is passed. It is NOT intended to require 60 votes to pass anything at all!” Musk wrote on social media. “STOP THE ABUSE OF THE FILIBUSTER NOW. Either senators must talk or they must pass the bill to SAVE AMERICA!”
Musk was responding to a post from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who said it was “great” that Thune planned to force a Senate vote on the SAVE America Act. However, Lee argued that simply holding a vote was not enough. “A vote isn’t enough; President Trump and the American people are calling on us to PASS this bill,” Lee wrote, adding that senators who want to block it should be required to speak on the floor.
At issue is a procedural battle with major political consequences. Republicans could bring the bill to the floor and face a predictable defeat because they lack the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. Or they could force Democrats into a traditional talking filibuster, requiring them to physically hold the floor and speak continuously for hours or even days. If Democrats tire and yield, the bill could pass with a simple majority.
The “talking filibuster” is what most Americans imagine when they think of Senate obstruction — most famously when former Sen. Strom Thurmond spoke for more than 24 hours against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. By contrast, the modern cloture-based filibuster allows senators to block legislation without ever speaking, enabling the majority party to claim it tried while blaming the minority for inaction.
Conservative commentators argue this system rewards failure. Sean Davis, CEO of The Federalist, criticized Thune’s approach, saying it amounted to “failure theater.” Davis claimed Thune would file cloture on a “zombie filibuster” that would predictably fail, allowing Republicans to move on without forcing Democrats to publicly defend their opposition. “Failure theater from do-nothing Republicans should be mocked and condemned, not praised,” he said.
Historically, the talking filibuster was the Senate norm until 1917, when the cloture rule was introduced. While cloture became more common over time, it did not abolish the talking filibuster, which remains a valid procedural option.
If Republicans pursue this strategy, it would require strict discipline on both sides. Democrats would need to ensure they never yielded the floor, because once they stopped speaking, control would pass back to Republicans. Republicans, meanwhile, would need to block or table amendments and wait out their opponents until exhaustion forced them to surrender the floor.
With the Senate locked in gridlock, many conservatives argue that reviving the talking filibuster may be the only way to advance major parts of Donald Trump’s agenda, including the SAVE America Act.
