Ahead of the August recess, Senate Republicans remain divided over how to proceed with the SAVE America Act, legislation championed by President Donald Trump that aims to ban mail-in ballots and require identification and proof of citizenship for voters.
In response to a Daily Signal questionnaire sent to all Republican Senate offices, staunch allies of the president, such as Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, reaffirmed the president’s call for the chamber to remain in session until it passes the legislation, rather than adjourn for its scheduled August recess. Others stated their support for the SAVE America Act but did not specifically address the recess or Trump’s call for the chamber to abolish the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold to end debate and pass legislation. With the filibuster, the legislation would need Democrat support to pass.
“The Senate has done NOTHING to deserve a five-week break,” Tuberville told the Daily Signal. “Other than the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’ all the Senate has done is pass bills rebuking Trump and giving Democrats handouts. Our job is to deliver RESULTS for the American people.”
SAVE’s Current Status
Pieces of the legislation were attached to several measures that passed the House last week but have yet to receive a vote in the Senate.
Most notably, components are included in the budget resolution that is a framework for a Senate bill. That spending measure could pass the Senate through the special process of reconciliation, reserved for certain budget-related measures and requiring only majority support for passage. However, while the language in the resolution allows individual states to access billions in federal funding if they “opt in” to a voting integrity program, it would not mandate national voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote, as does the actual SAVE America Act.
That process also might encounter obstacles from certain Republican senators. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told the Daily Signal that language Trump requested might create certain problems for some Republicans.
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“For some people it does,” Cassidy says. “For [Sen.] Mitch McConnell, it would.”
“[Sen.] Lisa Murkowski has made it clear she doesn’t favor his [Trump’s] current iteration, as it would forbid mail-in ballots, which is very important in Alaska,” Cassidy continued.
Other components of the voter integrity legislation have been included in larger packages, such as the National Defense Authorization Act, which Trump considered a “must-pass” bill. However, the act would require the customary 60 votes to pass.
Conservatives Willing to Go to Great Lengths
In a statement to the Daily Signal, Lee said he is “proud to lead the charge to stay in Washington and work for Americans until the SAVE America Act is passed,” while acknowledging that only “a handful” of senators have joined his effort to postpone the August recess.
“We are working on multiple avenues to pass the SAVE America Act, and this is one of them,” the senator continued. “Stay tuned.”
Lee said that portions of the legislation may need to be passed separately before being combined together. Regarding the threat of the filibuster, Lee said he supports forcing a procedure known as a talking filibuster to advance the SAVE America Act, but noted that reconciliation could provide a path to pass key provisions of the bill.
Tuberville said he plans to join Lee in opposing any motion to adjourn for the August recess. He called on the majority leader to abolish the Senate’s “traditions,” referring to the filibuster. The American people “didn’t vote for a Republican party obsessed with preserving their own power through the manufactured filibuster,” he said.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., also voiced support for remaining in session.
“I’m in support of the SAVE Act. We have to get it on the floor and we have to get it done, and if that means going into August I’m supportive of that,” Schmitt said.
A Schmitt spokesman told the Daily Signal the senator is a co-sponsor of the SAVE America Act and has repeatedly voted for the legislation.
Reagan McCarthy, communications director for Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told the Daily Signal that the senator “is a Day One, unapologetic supporter of the SAVE America Act” and supports remaining in Washington “as long as it takes.”
Similarly, the office of Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., pointed the Daily Signal to recent public statements in which he blamed Senate Democrats for delaying the legislation and urged Republicans to find a way to pass the law.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., stated on X, “Hoosiers are asking me if I would support canceling the Senate’s August recess to pass the Save Act? My answer is yes.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told the Daily Signal that the senator “believes that the Senate needs to do what it takes to pass the Save America Act,” although he did not specifically address whether he supports abolishing the filibuster or canceling recess.
While the Daily Signal could not reach Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., for comment, the senator announced that she supports staying in Washington as “long as necessary.”
Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Ashley Moody, R-Fla.; and Jim Banks, R-Ind. all made statements on X that the Senate should pass the legislation before leaving for recess.
During an appearance on CBS over the weekend, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., called on the majority leader to delay the recess.
Republicans Wary of Changes to Filibuster, Recess, Election Reform
At a Wednesday press conference, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters he is “for anything that we can do to get the SAVE America Act passed.” However, he said he does not believe keeping senators in Washington through August would change the outcome of Democrats’ refusal to support the bill.
Thune added that he does not believe he could secure the 50 Republican votes needed to abolish the filibuster.
While Sens. McConnell, R-Ky.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Murkowski, R-Alaska, did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment, the four previously voted against an effort by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to attach the SAVE America Act to a budget reconciliation package that passed the Senate in June.
At the time, Tillis explained that any effort to implement the election reform law before the 2026 midterms would create turmoil in states across the country as they changed voting rules so close to an election.
In addition to Murkowski, Kennedy, Moody, Sullivan, Collins, Cassidy, Scott, McConnell, Thune, and Tillis, the following Senate offices did not respond to the Daily Signal’s requests for comment by the time of publication: Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Jim Justice, R-W.Va.; Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; John Hoeven, R-N.D.; Jon Husted, R-Ohio; Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; Dave McCormick, R-Pa.; Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; James Risch, R-Idaho; Tim Sheehy, R-Mont.; and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
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