India, Aug. 3 -- Relations between Senate Majority Leader John Thune and US President Donald Trump have plunged into a period of intense public friction, exposing deep ideological fissures within the Republican Party as the crucial US midterm elections loom. The widening rift centres on relentless White House pressure demanding that the Senate quickly pass the controversial SAVE America Act, a sweeping package of voter identification requirements and electoral restrictions, alongside calls to abolish the legislative filibuster.

While the administration insists that congressional leadership should force the measures through with a simple majority, Thune has consistently pushed back, maintaining a measured approach grounded in legislative ...