Conservatives shoot down Senate off-ramp on SAVE America Act

Conservatives in both chambers are sharply shooting down the idea of trying to advance key provisions of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act through the budget reconciliation process, arguing the strategy has little chance of succeeding.

Senate Republicans have been searching for an off-ramp to end the intense pressure campaign from President Trump and his allies to pass the GOP voting requirements bill, which they’ve been debating on the floor for two weeks even as unified Democratic opposition leaves it short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the upper chamber. 

But a proposal to pass pieces of the bill, which mandates voter IDs and proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, via the same partisan process they used for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year was met with swift and angry pushback.

“The Senate parliamentarian picked out a bunch of what they call policy items out of (the) One Big Beautiful Bill (Act). So how are they going to move SAVE America through reconciliation? They have a new parliamentarian over there that I don’t know about? See, that’s the mess. That’s the mess the Senate tries to pull, and they can see that they’re doing something and they’re not. That’s unfortunate,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said.

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) echoed similar sentiments, noting that the parliamentarian will “kill” any provision of the SAVE America Act “in two seconds.”

“They’re not gonna let that through reconciliation. It’s policy. It’s not budget. It won’t work,” he said.

Reconciliation would allow Republicans to circumvent a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. But it also has strict rules about what can be included and the bill would have to go through a so-called “Byrd Bath,” which allows the Senate parliamentarian to strip out extraneous provisions.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) accused the Senate of “lying to the American people.”

“SAVE America Act cannot pass through budget reconciliation,” she told reporters. “And they think you’re stupid. And so, I’m calling them out, and I’m not going to play their game.”

Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a lead sponsor of the bill, and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have also poured cold water on the proposal, which would also aim to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal operations through reconciliation.

“There are many things the Senate could pass with a simple majority using the procedure known as ‘budget reconciliation,’” Lee, one of the bill’s foremost proponents posted on X. “The SAVE America Act is *not* one of them So we need to keep debating it as we have been—until it passes.”

Trump on Tuesday didn’t commit to backing it.

“I don’t want to comment until I see the deal, but as you know, they’re negotiating a deal. I guess they’re getting fairly close, but I think any deal they make, I’m pretty much not happy with it,” he said. 

Despite the opposition, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Wednesday that the committee will “expeditiously move” towards creating a second reconciliation bill after consulting with Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), noting that he thinks there will be “many opportunities to improve voter integrity” in the package. 

Graham didn’t go into the details of what those reforms might look like or how they would get through the reconciliation process.

“I would need to see what process he’s going to use to get it through. Because it’s reconciliation. It affects the budget. You have to have an income and expense. I don’t know how he’s gonna do that,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said. “He would need to have a plan, I would think, before he puts that out there.”

Thune has been under immense pressure to advance the SAVE America Act. Trump has called it his top legislative priority and threatened to not make a deal with Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security if the upper chamber couldn’t pass the voting bill.

Many House Republicans have said they would oppose any Senate-passed bills until the SAVE America Act passes.

Conservatives have argued that Thune should use a talking filibuster to move the bill through the Senate. The process would force Democrats to speak continuously on the Senate floor to delay the bill. In such a scenario, if Democrats ceded the floor, Republicans could pass the measure with 51 votes.

But Thune has opted against using such a procedure. Instead, Republicans have forced an extended debate on the measure, hoping to put Democrats on defense.

This week those conservatives continued urging Thune to find a way to pass the bill even as they railed against the possibility of using reconciliation.

“He knows that through regular order, the Senate Democrats are never going to vote for cloture. He knows that. I know that. Everybody knows that. So he can say whatever he wants, but he’s got a choice to make. Are you going to do what 85% of the American people want to see happen, which is make sure that Americans are voting in American elections and that you’re using voter ID, or is your role to protect the procedures of the Senate? Only John Thune can answer that,” Donalds said.

Self said that, “We need the SAVE America Act. Anything else is less than.”

Asked Tuesday whether he’s skeptical of the SAVE America Act being in a reconciliation bill, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said: “I haven’t seen anything that shows what pieces would be reconcilable, but if there are, obviously we just want to pursue every means necessary to get that bill to the president’s desk.”

The Senate is set to leave for their two-week recess beginning March 30. But Thune has been facing pressure from conservatives to cancel the break and instead continue the debate on the SAVE America Act until it passes.

“They need to stay here and keep at it,” Self said.

Emily Brooks contributed.

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

Hegseth: Military chaplains will no longer display rank

Here are Iran’s 5 conditions for ending war after rejecting US ceasefire plan

Senate GOP-backed deal to end DHS shutdown draws extensive fire

Jeffries warns Republicans on redistricting after Democrat flips Mar-a-Lago seat

Murphy on ‘$1.5 BILLION’ stock trade before Trump Iran ...

Cruz asks Senate to hold his salary during DHS shutdown

51 percent in new poll say they hope Democrats take control of House

As Trump sends more troops toward Iran, lawmakers want more answers 

Trump makes public call for clean 18-month FISA 702 extension

Navarro: Supreme Court ruling on tariffs ‘best possible outcome’ for ...

Judge refuses to drop lawsuit over Musk role as Trump adviser

The SAVE America Act is bad news for Republicans

Smith memo: Trump had classified docs shared with just 6 people, others tied to ...

Mar-a-Lago flip in Florida sends warning sign for Trump, GOP

Live updates: Trump to speak before NRCC; DHS funding divides Congress

Senate Democrats reject GOP offer to reopen DHS, partially fund ICE

Pirro deputy admits feds couldn’t find criminal evidence against Powell

McCarthy says senators can’t leave without funding DHS: ‘You’re really ...

© The Hill