Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said Monday night that President Donald Trump wants Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE America Act.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has declared the bill dead on arrival, prompting Republicans to weigh an uncommon procedural move to bypass Democrat opposition.
"Just left the White House. POTUS wants the SAVE America Act passed! Voter ID is number one," Luna wrote in a post on X.
"Today, Schumer said he wants mass amnesty for all illegals and to immediately stop all ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] efforts."
Luna said she discussed the bill with senators and the president and that the only viable path forward is through a rarely used Senate maneuver.
"After speaking with many senators, as well as directly with POTUS, the pathway forward is through the standing filibuster," she wrote.
"This would effectively keep the government open while allowing Republican senators to break through the 'zombie' filibuster and put the SAVE America Act up for a vote on the Senate floor," Luna continued.
"The standing filibuster is not common parliamentary procedure, but it is one of the only mechanisms available to go around senators who want to block voter ID."
In Senate practice, most major legislation can be delayed or blocked unless 60 senators vote to end debate under cloture rules.
The term "zombie filibuster" is sometimes used to describe the modern filibuster, in which senators do not need to hold the floor and speak continuously to prevent a vote.
Luna directly appealed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
"@LeaderJohnThune we are very pleased that you are discussing the standing filibuster, and we believe you will go down in history if this is pulled off as one of the best leaders the Senate has ever had," she wrote.
"Voter ID is a must, and the ball is now in your court."
Newsmax reached out to Thune for comment.
Her comments came as Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, announced the SAVE America Act, a revised version of the SAVE Act, which the House passed in April.
It would require photo identification in order to vote in federal elections, while retaining key elements of the original bill that would require proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration and states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls.
"The SAVE America Act makes our original SAVE Act better," Roy and Lee said in a joint statement.
"President Trump rightly believes we should include Voter ID in this bill as we make a renewed push to secure our elections and protect the rights of American voters," they continued.
"By requiring Voter ID and proof-of-citizenship, the SAVE America Act will ensure that our federal elections are decided by U.S. citizens—and U.S. citizens alone."
Schumer rejected the legislation and said it would not advance in the Senate.
"The SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow style restrictions on voting," he said in a statement posted Monday on X.
"It will be dead on arrival in the Senate."
If it were to pass the Senate, the SAVE America Act would need House approval before it could be sent to Trump for his signature.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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