Senate Republicans have struggled to advance President Donald Trump’s voter ID and citizenship verification legislation.
However, a late-night vote in the chamber revived a proposal many had considered all but dead.
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During the Senate’s marathon vote-a-rama on the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement package, Republicans made two attempts to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to the broader measure.
Both efforts fell short, as a group of Republicans joined Senate Democrats in opposing the amendments offered by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah.
The proposals faced steep odds regardless, as they needed to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold to advance.
Graham’s amendment sought to attach a revised version of the SAVE America Act that included several additional policy provisions, including a ban on biological males competing in women’s sports, a measure Trump had pushed for months.
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Four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — voted against the proposal.
Their opposition kept the amendment from reaching the 50-vote threshold Republicans would have needed to pursue a talking filibuster strategy.
Lee’s separate amendment, however, did secure 50 votes after Collins switched her position and backed the original version of the SAVE America Act.
As the vote-a-rama continued, Lee celebrated the result on X, noting that with Vice President JD Vance available to cast a tie-breaking vote, the SAVE America Act would have enough support to pass the Senate, Fox News reported.
“That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature,” Lee said.
Lee and some other Republicans have been leaning on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to launch a talking filibuster to grind down Democrats and advance the measure by a simple majority vote.
Thune has, so far, refused to do that, sparking fury from allies of the president.
He has said he didn’t believe Republicans would hold together to repel a deluge of Democratic amendments that could substantially alter the legislation or target other agenda items important to Trump.
Senate Republicans previously mounted a lengthy floor effort in March to force debate on the SAVE America Act, but momentum behind the legislation has waned considerably in the months since.
That is especially true now that two members – Tillis and McConnell – are retiring, and another GOP senator, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 riot, lost his primary.
Another path forward would be eliminating the legislative filibuster altogether, a move Trump has periodically urged Republicans to pursue during his second term.
That option remains deeply divisive within the GOP conference.
Several Republican senators have warned that weakening or abolishing the filibuster could backfire if Democrats eventually regain control of the Senate and use the precedent to advance their own legislative priorities.
But conservatives argue Democrats have repeatedly pledged to do just that if they regain control of the chamber.
They add that, based on Democrats’ threats, Republicans should just end the rule now and push their agenda through, which they say would include the SAVE Act and make it harder for Democrats to win again.
Trump has also directed criticism at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, whose ruling determined that the SAVE America Act did not qualify for inclusion in the immigration package under the Senate’s budget reconciliation rules, which allow passage by a simple majority vote.
In response, Trump has repeatedly urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to remove MacDonough from her position.
“We have every right to change her, and should do so, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “As long as she’s there, we will never get our desperately needed, SAVE AMERICA ACT, approved, and put into full force and effect!”
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
