House Republicans ramp up pressure on Senate to pass SAVE America Act

Conservatives in the House are ratcheting up pressure on the Senate to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, threatening to block other legislation until the measure becomes law — a move that would add to the growing stalemate on Capitol Hill.

The upper chamber is expected to take up the bill this week, with Trump allies pushing Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to keep it on the floor for as long as possible. But the legislation is ultimately expected to fail, given strong Democratic opposition that will make it impossible for the measure to overcome the 60-vote threshold.

The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot.

Even so, a number of House Republicans are not backing down from their threats, potentially complicating Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) efforts to advance other legislation tied to President Trump’s agenda. 

“It is unacceptable for them to try to do a show vote, which is exactly what Thune is doing,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told The Hill in an interview. “Basically a head fake, to try to make the American people think that they’re really making an attempt at passing this when they’re not.”

Luna and several House Republicans have urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to sidestep Democratic opposition through the use of a “talking filibuster,” which would force Democrats to speak continuously on the Senate floor to delay the bill. Once they cede the floor, Republicans could pass the measure with 51 votes. 

But Thune has opted to advance the bill through regular order, instead. He has repeatedly said he doesn’t have the GOP support required to move to a talking filibuster and warned that forcing one could backfire on Republicans.

“Thune knows, and every other member of the Senate as well as the House, understand that unless they embrace the talking filibuster, it will not pass,” Luna said. “And so, really, his options are to have every piece of Senate legislation die on the House floor, which we have the votes to do. We are going to do that. So, effective starting this week, no Senate legislation will pass that they send over to the House.”

Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican defection vote on any bill, assuming all members are present and Democrats are unified in opposition. Luna said that she expects a “majority of the conference” to oppose any Senate-passed bills. 

Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), who said he will oppose all Senate bills except Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding until the SAVE America Act gets passed, told Fox News last week that the SAVE America Act is “what the American people want.”

“This is going to be key to House Republicans keeping a majority in November,” Gill said. 

Reps. Mark Harris (R-N.C.), Randy Fine (R-Fla.), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and Keith Self (R-Texas) have also said they would vote down any Senate bills. 

“I’m encouraged that many of my @HouseGOP colleagues have made similar commitments,” Davidson wrote on X Sunday. “It’s time for deeds, not words in the Senate. Call the question and PASS The SAVE America Act.”

Trump has made the SAVE America Act a key priority as the 2026 midterm election season ramps up, touting it in his State of the Union address and telling House Republicans at their retreat in Doral, Florida, that he won’t sign any other legislation until the Senate passes the bill. 

Thune said in remarks last week on the Senate floor that he can’t “guarantee an outcome on this legislation.”

“But I can guarantee that we are going to put Democrats on the record,” he added. 

Senate Democrats have been steadfast in their opposition to the bill, arguing that it would only create barriers to voting. Even Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a maverick who has at times voted across the aisle for GOP legislation, told CBS’s “The Takeout with Major Garrett” that he wouldn’t support the bill “in its current state.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during a press call on Sunday that the SAVE America Act is “one of the most despicable pieces of legislation I’ve come across in the many years I’ve been a legislator.” He said on the Senate floor Monday that Senate Democrats will “oppose” Republicans on the legislation “for as long as it takes.”

With no clear path forward for the SAVE America Act, pressure on Thune is only intensifying.

Luna said she believes Trump should hold back all Senate endorsements until the upper chamber passes the SAVE America Act, and added that House members should consider primarying Republican senators in their states who have not backed the talking filibuster.

She has also called for the SAVE America Act to be attached to the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on foreigners who are located overseas.

Johnson, already navigating a razor-thin majority, could find himself in a bind as he faces pressure from hard-line conservatives demanding a tougher stance against Thune and the upper chamber.

The Senate last week passed a major housing bill, dubbed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, that has already garnered opposition among some House Republicans. Now with the SAVE America Act on the line, the bill is likely to be dead on arrival in the House.

“The housing bill will die, again, because Thune and the Senate do not want to actually embrace the talking filibuster, actually do anything to pass the SAVE America Act,” Luna said. “So that’s a promise that will die.”

There’s also the DHS shutdown, though some Republicans have floated a funding bill from the Senate as an exception.

Fine wrote on X Monday that the Senate has two options: “Pass the SAVE America Act or lose our country.”

“The ball is in the @SenateGOP’s court,” he wrote.

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