Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday that a push by Republicans to safeguard federal elections through the SAVE Act would be "dead on arrival" in the Senate.
In a statement, Schumer compared Republicans' renewed rally to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act to the Jim Crow era, drawing criticism from conservatives who say the legislation is aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting.
"It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown," Schumer said in the statement.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Friday introduced legislation that would require voters to show photo identification in federal elections, expanding on earlier efforts to mandate proof of citizenship.
Under the proposal, voters would be required to provide in-person proof of citizenship when registering, and states would be directed to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls.
The original SAVE Act passed the House in April but was never taken up in the Senate.
Now, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, a member of the Republican Study Committee, is leading a renewed House push to force action, urging Senate Rules Committee Chairman Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to schedule an immediate markup.
"The House did our job nearly 300 days ago. The Senate needs to do theirs," RSC Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, said in a statement. "The Senate needs to stop stalling on this commonsense election integrity bill and get it to the floor. Rep. Gill's letter is exactly the pressure we need to get this to President Trump's desk."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he supports the SAVE Act, including an updated version of the measure that adds a voter ID requirement.
"At some point, we'll have that vote," Thune said. "It hasn't had consideration in the relevant committee yet."
The push comes as the Senate last week passed an amended spending package, sending it back to the House to finalize most fiscal 2026 funding. The Department of Homeland Security, however, remains on a two-week stopgap as negotiations continue.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has called on House leadership to attach the SAVE Act to the funding bill.
"The SAVE Act will not pass as a standalone bill, which is exactly why it must be included in the appropriations package. ... Any attempt to concur in the Senate amendment without attaching the SAVE Act will be blocked," she said in a post on Sunday.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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