Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Lindsey Graham is going to be laid to rest this week in a memorial service. One of the things that he wanted up until his death was financial restrictions on the biggest buyers of Russian oil. There are 62 signatories to that bill, a filibuster-proof majority. Will it get voted on before the Senate breaks for summer? SEN. KENNEDY: Don’t know. And let me say, look, with respect to the Senate, doing nothing is hard because you never know when you’re finished. We need to put the House budget resolution on the floor. It’s the only chance we have to get money to defense, the farmers, and to take another crack at the SAVE Act. We need to add Iran to the Graham Russian sanctions bill and vote on it. We need to put the cryptocurrency market structure bill on the floor and vote on it– MARGARET BRENNAN: — All in two weeks?– SEN. KENNEDY: — and maybe take a few extra days. Look, I mean no disrespect. I love John Thune. He’s my leader. He’s got a big brain. He’s- he’s better looking than me, but I think he’s just being too cautious. He wants to spend the rest of our time talking with- with Senator Schumer about shutting down government, and the Graham Platner wing of the party is, his party, is not going to let Schumer agree with us. They- they already want to give Schumer a bathrobe, a popsicle, and an early bedtime, and have him retire. I don’t think Chuck can agree with us. I think he’s going to shut down government. MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to go back- you just said you wanted to move forward on what the House just started the process on. That would be a party line- that would be a party line vote. That would be Republicans jamming this thing through, and the SAVE Act, as you know, or even some version of it, is highly partisan, highly controversial. Bigger picture, isn’t it going to hurt faith in our election process if a Republican-only policy to change how elections are run is ramped through 100 days- you know, less than 100 days out from the election? SEN. KENNEDY: No, in my opinion, for both sides to have credibility in the elections- in our elections, we need to do two things and only two things. Number one, you have to prove you are who you say you are in order to register to vote and to vote. And number two, however you decide to vote, that’s up to the states; we need to go back to having an election day, not an election month. We’ve got to know the results of the election that night or shortly thereafter if it’s close. That to me is what the SAVE Act is all about, and I think we can pass it, and I think we can craft it in a way to survive a Byrd bath. But we’re not going to know if we don’t try. MARGARET BRENNAN: Grants, in other words, to states. To incentivize, not requirements for states to take action. That’s your version? SEN. KENNEDY: Yeah, but that’s not the only thing. I’ve- I’ve been contacted by some really smart people about a way to do it in addition to the grants. I’m not saying it’ll work, but you’re not going to know unless you try.
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