Vice President JD Vance torched Senate Republican leadership on Friday for preparing to leave town for a two-week recess while the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security drags on and the SAVE America Act remains stalled by a Democratic filibuster.
In an interview with Benny Johnson, Vance made clear that Congress has urgent business that cannot wait.
When asked directly whether the Senate should go on recess right now, Vance responded, “No, of course not. Of course not. We should at least, the very minimum product that we should get before anybody’s going on recess is, let’s reopen the Department of Homeland Security!”
Vance also eviscerated the argument for protecting the filibuster, calling it “the DUMBEST political argument I have ever seen.”
“So, when Mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski say, ‘well, we need to protect the filibuster because the Democrats, they’re not going to do it. So, we shouldn’t do it either,’” Vance continued. “The Democrats ruined the career of Kyrsten Sinema for not overruling the filibuster. They’re going to do it. So, we might as well do it now to enforce the protection of the American electoral system.”
The VP stated that he is “ready today” to cast the tie-breaking vote if 50 Senate Republicans have the courage to eliminate the filibuster and advance the bill.
WATCH:
🚨 BREAKING: VP JD Vance EVISCERATES the Senate for going on vacation, says the filibuster must be nuked so the SAVE America Act can pass
He nailed it!
“It’s the DUMBEST political argument I have ever seen!”
“So when Mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski say, ‘well, we need to… pic.twitter.com/TY3jM2hXcN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 27, 2026
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, formally H.R. 7296, requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote and valid photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections.
The bill passed the House earlier this year and has been a top priority for President Trump, who has repeatedly pressed Senate Republicans to take it up and, if necessary, change Senate rules to overcome Democratic opposition.
Senate currently lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster.
Republicans are divided on whether to nuke the procedural hurdle.
The inability to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security has caused widespread TSA staffing shortages, flight delays, and long security lines at airports across the country.
