Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., stated that his working relationship with former President Donald Trump remains robust, despite public disagreements over the stalled SAVE America Act.

Thune told Fox News Digital that he has spoken with Trump twice in a single morning since the former president publicly cast doubt on Thune’s leadership. Trump had stated, "We're going to find out," whether Thune was the appropriate person to lead Senate Republicans.

Reports of a deteriorating relationship between the two men stem from the SAVE America Act’s lack of progress in the Senate. Trump has expressed a strong desire for the election integrity package to be passed. Thune, however, characterized these disagreements as procedural rather than personal, noting that both he and Trump "want to get to the same place." He explained that his approach is often constrained by the procedural realities of the Senate, which he described as an institution "designed" to be difficult to navigate.

"We have those candid conversations, but I'm not worried about that relationship," Thune said. "I know he's going to push as hard as he can. That's his business model, is to just keep pushing, pushing, pushing to get people to go as far as they can go."

The SAVE America Act has generated significant attention among Trump, Senate Republicans, and their base. Thune acknowledged the pressure, stating, "There are good days and bad days. And around here, probably lately more bad days than good days, but you know you just kind of, like I said, keep your head down, do the work."

Thune, an original co-sponsor of the SAVE Act, the precursor to the current version, is interested in exploring avenues such as budget reconciliation to advance aspects of the bill. However, he pointed out the challenge of securing the necessary 50 votes and maintaining cohesion against potential "crazy democratic amendments."

"I keep asking the question, am I the only one in this town that can count to 50?" Thune stated. "Because it seems like these questions recur and there are a lot of people out there who haven't seemed to internalize the fact that there aren't Democrats that are going to flip and vote for this."

He further emphasized that "there aren't 50 Republicans that are going to vote to nuke the filibuster. Those are two facts that are indisputable and unchangeable."

Thune highlighted the inherent differences between the House and the Senate, where bipartisan agreement is often necessary to overcome procedural hurdles like the filibuster. He stressed that his role as Senate Majority Leader involves listening to a broad range of concerns from an entire state and building consensus for achievable outcomes.

"This place was supposed to be difficult, so that no dictator could master it, and I think that's kind of the role of the Senate in our system and our democracy," Thune said. "It's important to keep that in perspective, but it's frustrating as heck when you're somebody who likes to get things done, likes to get results, and you've got procedural roadblocks holding things up as we try to wind down and get some things done."