Trump slips on affordability message amid battle in GOP over SAVE America Act

President Trump’s intense focus on passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act is threatening to put Republicans at risk ahead of the midterm elections as the party finds itself on uneven footing with voters on affordability. 

Trump sent shockwaves through Washington earlier this week when he canceled what would have been the highly publicized signing of a bipartisan housing bill addressing home affordability, saying he would not sign the legislation unless the SAVE America Act is passed. 

The president has also made a habit of calling on Republicans to pass the legislation during public appearances and in numerous Truth Social posts, calling on Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster in an effort to pass the legislation. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has repeatedly maintained Republicans in the chamber do not have the votes to scrap the procedural tactic. 

Trump recently called on Republicans to pass the legislation on Friday, speaking to Christian conservatives at the annual Faith & Freedom Coalition policy conference in Washington. 

“Hard to believe that we even have to fight for this,” Trump said. “Fighting the Democrats and a few Republicans who are doing a tremendous disservice to this country,” he continued, name-checking Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). 

“You should call her and tell her to get on the ball. She’ll never win another election, I can tell you,” he said, pressuring the senator to support the bill. 

Murkowski hit Trump over his insistence on passing the legislation in comments to reporters on Wednesday after Trump’s heated lunch meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill. 

“If he chooses to hold up his own agenda because he wants action on the SAVE Act, that’s, I guess, his call. It is not helpful to him,” the senator said. 

The SAVE America Act would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and present a photo ID to cast a ballot. 

The legislation has passed the House, but Democrats have blocked its passage in the Senate. A group of hard-line House Republicans sought to oppose any procedural rule........

© The Hill