Pressure to Pass the SAVE America Act Intensifies

After the Senate failed to advance legislation backed by President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans are moving to attach voter ID provisions to must-pass bills such as the National Defense Authorization Act and a reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The SAVE America Act, authored by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to show ID when casting ballots. The bill has passed the House twice this year but has stalled in the Senate.

“No more delays,” Roy wrote on X on Thursday. “No more excuses. No more math problems. Pass Rep. Roy’s SAVE America Act!”

Despite calls from Trump and support from many Republicans, and overwhelming public support for voter ID, the Senate has not taken up the measure. Lawmakers have also declined to eliminate the 60-vote threshold—known as the filibuster—which would allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.

During a Thursday press conference, Vice President JD Vance told Daily Signal White House Correspondent Elizabeth Mitchell that Senate leadership has been reluctant to pursue changes such as abolishing the filibuster, urging lawmakers instead to allow a vote.

“How many American senators know that the American people love the Save America Act because they believe in voter ID, but how many of those same senators don’t want to vote for it because they know that the radical elements within their own party would punish them for it?” Vance told the Daily Signal.

“One of the things that sometimes frustrates me about the legislative process is that people will go into it saying, ‘This isn’t possible, therefore we’re not even going to try.’ Well, let’s actually see. Let’s try it. And if it’s not possible, then let the people put their name on it.”

In response, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., pledged to pursue a strategy of attaching the SAVE America Act to must-pass legislation to force Senate action. That approach has been discussed in Republican circles as a pathway to enact the bill after it stalled as standalone legislation.

“This is why I will be offering an amendment to place it on the NDAA and if that fails, it will have to be on FISA,” Luna wrote on X, responding to a report that Republican senators were divided over advancing Trump’s agenda.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office has disputed claims that Republicans are deliberately blocking the legislation.

In a separate post, Luna criticized the Senate’s handling of the bill.

“The Senate has openly declared disdain for the American people,” she wrote. “The House must place the SAVE America Act on the NDAA. If this fails, then it must go on FISA.”

Trump has also weighed in, signaling he would oppose moving forward with surveillance legislation absent election reforms.

“For the good of the nation, and for the people of our country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday, he would not support a FISA bill without inclusion of the SAVE America Act. Luna responded, “No Save America. No FISA.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., echoed that position, saying he supports tying the legislation to must-pass measures.

“I’m 100% with @POTUS,” Tuberville wrote on social media. “Any FISA extensions MUST include the SAVE America Act.”

He later added that the Senate should halt other legislative action until the measure is passed.

“The Senate shouldn’t be doing ANYTHING until we pass the SAVE America Act,” Tuberville wrote. “Election security is the NUMBER ONE issue leading up to the midterms.”