The SAVE America Act is bad news for Republicans

Most political observers would agree: Congress doesn’t really count for anything, anymore. In blind loyalty to Donald Trump, Congress has given up its unique power to declare war, impose tariffs, or control federal spending. Under House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), and their subservient Republican members, Congress exists only to watch from the sidelines as the entire government is run from the White House — or to occasionally cast a pro-forma vote of approval. 

Need proof? The Senate is now in its second week of marathon debate over one of the worst, most undemocratic, most poorly-crafted, and yes, most stupid pieces of legislation ever considered by Congress — which almost everyone admits has no chance of passage. 

It’s called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, and, according to Donald Trump, is “one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself.” He has vowed not to endorse any Republican who votes against it. And Trump-whisperer Elon Musk has said that failure to pass it “would be the end of democracy in America.”

All you have to do is read the legislation to know that Musk has it backwards. The truth is that passage of the SAVE America Act, not failure to pass it, would mean the end of democracy in America.

What’s wrong with it? For starters, it is built on a stack of lies that Trump has been telling since 2020: that he, not Joe Biden, actually won that year’s election; that there’s massive voter fraud; that every election won by a Democrat is “rigged;” that millions of non-citizens are allowed to vote in every election; and that vote-by-mail is rife with fraud. Countless independent investigations and court challenges have concluded that, no matter what Trump says, not one of those claims is true — not one, not even close.

So, to fix a problem that exists only in Trump’s warped mind, congressional Republicans came up with the so-called SAVE America Act, a package of voter restrictions that will require people to register to vote in person; require proof of citizenship (passport, birth certificate, or Real ID card) to register or re-register; require voter ID of every voter; and, in effect, eliminate vote-by-mail.

Now, here’s the irony: If passed, the SAVE America Act will not only not solve a problem that doesn’t exist, but every one of its provisions will severely disadvantage Republicans —  perhaps even more than it harms Democrats.

Consider: Roughly half of Americans, Republican and Democrat, do not have a passport and would have to pay to get one. Millions of Americans in both parties, especially older citizens, do not have ready access to their birth certificates. Having to register or re-register to vote in person would present a severe disadvantage to disabled people and millions of rural Americans, who are mostly Republicans. Millions of American women who took their husband’s name when married — many of whom vote Republican — would have to hunt down their birth certificate or pay for a new one.

Maybe the bill’s worst provision is it’s prohibition on universal mail voting, which was added to the bill only because Trump is convinced vote-by-mail is rigged in favor of Democrats. Again, he is dead wrong. Today, the District of Columbia and eight red and blue states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Utah — allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail, with almost zero cases of fraud.

In fact, as any veteran campaign operative knows, Republicans have usually been better at vote-by-mail than Democrats because they are better organized. When I was Democratic state chair of California, we knew the early absentee-ballot vote would always favor Republican candidates. Our only way to compete was a big turn-out-the-vote operation on Election Day, with the help of labor unions. 

At least one top Republican tried to explain this to Trump. In 2020, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Axios he had warned Trump that his party could be “screwed” by his fight against vote-by-mail. “We could lose based on that,” said McCarthy. Trump ignored him and is now beating the anti-vote-by-mail drum louder than ever.

When you add it all up, the consequences are clear. With passage of the so-called SAVE America Act, Republicans will not solve a widespread problem of voter fraud, since no such problem exists. But they will disenfranchise millions of their own voters.

It makes you wonder: Did any Republican read this legislation before agreeing to support it?

Bill Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More Opinions - White House News

Senate GOP says Trump signals shift to backing DHS compromise with Democrats

Bannon says ICE at airports ‘test run’ for 2026 elections

US issues ‘worldwide caution’ alert to travelers

GOP cracks in Senate begin to show in DHS shutdown fight

Delta suspends special congressional desk service amid shutdown

Van Hollen: Trump is ‘lying’ about talks with Iranians

Key things to watch for in Florida special election on Trump’s turf 

Live updates: DHS funding deal shows promise as TSA turmoil puts pressure on ...

Democrats’ quest for relatable white dudes finds new candidates

NTSB chair: LaGuardia crash investigator was stuck in TSA line for hours

Democrats release details behind spending on Noem’s $220M ad campaign

Republicans optimistic on path to end DHS shutdown

Explosion rocks Texas oil refinery

The SAVE America Act is bad news for Republicans

Pentagon closes office space for journalists after judge’s ruling on building ...

Senate Republican bashes GOP proposal to partially fund DHS as a ‘pipe ...

The Movement: Kent, Carlson, Greene create Shadow MAGA faction defying Trump

Watch live: Fired FBI agents testify before Senate Judiciary panel on 2020 ...

The Hill Podcasts – Morning Report

© The Hill