Conservative activist and frequent Turning Point USA speaker Scott Presler is blasting Senate Republicans for dragging their feet on the SAVE Act, warning the party risks repeating the mistakes of 2018. Despite holding the House, Senate, and White House at the time, Republicans watched as members of “the Squad” were elected and President Trump was later impeached. Presler argues that had the party prioritized election integrity then, the political landscape might look very different today.
🚨Scott Presler isn’t holding back
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 19, 2026
“I have a bone to pick… we just gave Republicans EVERYTHING on a golden platter. House, Senate, White House”
“Where’s the SAVE America Act? Where is election integrity? THIS is their opportunity"
CC @LeaderJohnThune pic.twitter.com/vJ0rQGZ6g9
"I have a bone to pick," Presler said. "And I was just in D.C. yesterday outside of John Thune's office, Senator John Thune. Listen, we just gave Republicans everything on a golden platter. We gave them the House. We gave them the Senate. We gave them the White House. We won everything for the Republican Party."
Okay. I love that we are securing the border. I love that illegal immigration is at its lowest point in modern history. I love that we are deporting criminal illegal aliens. I love that President Trump is trying to get peace in the Middle East and trying to stop the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, and he's bringing down gas prices, etc. I think Americans want more deportations. So, I'm glad that Kristi Noem is going to be hiring more ICE agents and they're ramping that up. I think that's one thing the American people want more of. They want more of economic relief, which I think President Trump is working on via I think deportation is important.
Presler went on to say those accomplishments matter, but the American people deserve election integrity. And yet on that issue, Republicans are stalling.
"But where's the Save Act?" he asked. "Where is election security? Where is election integrity? And quite frankly, this is their opportunity. Are they going to blow it like we did with Paul Ryan in 2016, where I'll remind the viewer we had the House, we had the White House, and we had the Senate. And what happened in 2018? Democrats won. AOC was elected. Rashida Tlaib was elected. Ilhan Omar was elected. The squad was elected."
"Do Republicans want a repeat of 2019, when President Trump and the Republican Party lost the House and President Trump was impeached and his agenda was stalled, and went on to the election of Joe Biden in 2020?" Presler asked incredulously. "Or are Republicans going to actually use this one moment in time to nuke the filibuster?"
"Be responsible on behalf of the American people," he said. "Pass law after law. Do everything in their power, even if they are unsuccessful. Do everything in their power to do right by the American people."
"You've got one year," he added. "Not even."
While the SAVE Act cleared the House, it has stalled in the Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster. At the same time, there is not enough support within the GOP conference to abolish or weaken the filibuster, leaving the bill stuck in procedural limbo.
President Trump has publicly urged Senate Republicans to scrap the filibuster to push priority legislation like the SAVE Act across the finish line. But a bloc of GOP senators continues to resist, citing institutional concerns and warning that Democrats would weaponize a filibuster-free Senate against conservatives the next time they regain power. Trump and his allies have dismissed that argument, countering that Democrats would eliminate the filibuster without hesitation if the roles were reversed.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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