House Republicans have a plan to bypass Senate Democrats and pass President Trump’s election integrity bill before the November midterms.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act — Trump’s signature election reform requiring proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote — has stalled in the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., faces a 60-vote filibuster threshold he can’t crack.
Democrats have panned the legislation as voter suppression. At least several would be needed to break the filibuster. None are expected to flip.
So Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is pushing Republicans to pass the bill’s core mandates via budget reconciliation — the same process that passed Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last year. Reconciliation sidesteps the Senate filibuster, allowing the majority to pass fiscal policy with just 50 votes.
“I’d rather pass the SAVE America Act. But recognizing that the Senate might not be able to get that done with the 60-vote threshold, let’s leverage the parliamentary procedure, bring that threshold down to 50, and get some really commonsense reforms done.”
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chairman of the Committee on House Administration, is overseeing the reconciliation strategy. He told Fox News Digital the plan targets two provisions: a proof of citizenship mandate for voter registration and a nationwide photo ID rule to cast a ballot.
Steil said he hopes Congress can pass a reconciliation bill with SAVE America before the November midterms, but conceded “the clock is ticking down pretty quickly.”
The budget reconciliation process is lengthy. Republicans took roughly half a year to use it for Trump’s signature tax-and-spending bill last year. Both chambers must pass budget frameworks, relevant committees draft policy provisions tied to spending levels, then identical bills must pass the House and Senate before reaching Trump’s desk.
The trickiest hurdle: the Senate parliamentarian, who interprets chamber rules and weeds out anything that doesn’t impact the federal budget, tax policy, or national debt. Reconciliation rules are strict — only provisions with direct fiscal effects survive.
Steil said portions of the SAVE America Act could get through by affecting funds sent to states via the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a 2002 election reform law.
“We could free up those funds or enhance those funds for states to do those post-election audits, which is a really important part of election integrity. You can do the same in regards to photo ID,” he said, adding that making Real ID the federal standard could effectively enforce the citizenship mandate. “Effectively, when an individual gets REAL ID, they’re proving their citizenship.”
The Trump administration is behind the push. Earlier this year, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told Republicans at a lawmaker-only meeting that the White House backed using reconciliation for SAVE America and argued it was the best way forward to pass GOP election reforms, multiple people in the room told Fox News Digital.
“The White House is engaged. We’ve had good conversations,” Steil said.
The House passed its version of the reconciliation bill earlier this summer — a $95 billion budget aimed at replenishing the U.S. military and enhancing election security.
But in the Senate, Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., unveiled his committee’s framework just before the chamber left for the August recess. His bill calls for up to $150 billion in spending — a significant difference. It’s not clear when it will advance through his panel or get a vote.
Speaker Johnson acknowledged that gap in an interview with Fox News Digital last month.
“The idea was, in keeping it skinny, is to move it quickly. And so the more you add to it, the more complex it gets… We’re very close to an election, the stakes are very high, the timing is short, and if you’re going to do election integrity measures, you need to do it, like, yesterday.”
Johnson reminded Fox News Digital that the House has passed the SAVE America Act four times. “This is the last best effort to get it through the Senate, so I’m for doing it as quickly as possible.”
Steil said he was optimistic an agreement could be reached.
“I think, broadly, we’re aligned. I think obviously the total numbers are different,” he said. “I think everyone recognizes the importance of making sure that our men and women in uniform have the resources needed to not only defend themselves but to defend our country… And also that we have the resources needed to make sure that we’re protecting our election.”
The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.
