Trump tells lawmakers ‘don’t worry about Easter’ to force vote on DHS, SAVE Act

President Trump told Republican lawmakers on Monday to not “worry about Easter” in order to stay in Washington to vote on a bill that ties Department of Homeland Security funding with voter identification requirements in the SAVE Act. 

Trump said that he’s “requesting that the Republican Senators do that immediately” and joked that lawmakers shouldn’t go home for what is slated to be a two-week recess starting at the end of this week.

“You don’t have to take a fast vote, don’t worry about Easter, going home — in fact make this one for Jesus,” he said while hosting a roundtable in Memphis.

“I’m tying Homeland Security into voter identification, with picture, and proof of citizenship in order to vote,” he said. “Those two items are the most important thing having to do with homeland security so it should be part of the Homeland Security bill.”

The president previously encouraged tying the two together in a TruthSocial post late Sunday, saying he doesn’t think any deal should be made “with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass ‘THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.’”

“It is far more important than anything else we are doing in the Senate, and that includes giving these same terrible people, the Dems (who are to blame for this mess!), a Five Billion Dollar cut in ICE funding, a deal which, even when disguised as something else, is unacceptable to me and the American people – UNLESS it includes their approval of Voter I.D. (with picture!), Citizenship to Vote, No Mail-In Voting (with exceptions), All Paper Ballots, No Men In Women’s Sports, and No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our precious children,” he wrote.

The DHS funding shutdown has stretched well past a month and is starting to impact airports with long lines. Lawmakers have been working to come to an agreement or at least get some functions of DHS funded like the TSA but Trump has introduced a new wrinkle by forcing one big bill that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said would be difficult to pass.

The SAVE America act would require photo ID to vote and proof of citizenship when registering. It has passed the House but is not expected to pass the Senate without Democrat support.

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