President Donald Trump is putting Senate Republicans on notice: pass the SAVE America Act or forget about signing anything else.
During a Capitol Hill lunch Wednesday with Senate Republicans, Trump made clear the election-integrity legislation is his top priority — and he’s willing to hold other bills hostage until it passes.
“We have to be able to get proof of citizenship when you vote, otherwise you don’t have elections. We have to be able to get voter ID.”
The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote in federal elections — a policy Trump has championed since his first term.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump dismissed Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) repeated claims that Republicans lack the votes to pass the bill.
“John’s a leader. That’s what being a leader’s all about. Hopefully he can get the votes.”
Thune has faced intense pressure from Trump to bypass the filibuster, but the South Dakota Republican insists the math doesn’t work.
“There are not the votes to nuke the filibuster, and there aren’t going to be 10 Democrat votes to, all of a sudden, support the SAVE America Act,” Thune told reporters Tuesday. “Those are just hard realities.”
Trump isn’t buying it.
In a Wednesday morning Truth Social post, the president raised the stakes: he will not sign the Housing Act until the SAVE America Act reaches his desk.
Republicans hold a Senate majority, but the 60-vote filibuster threshold requires Democrat cooperation on most legislation — cooperation Trump believes Thune should be securing as leader.
The standoff sets up a high-stakes showdown between Trump’s hardline election-integrity push and Senate procedural realities. Patriots know which side Trump’s on.
