Senate adjourns without passing Trump-backed voting bill
Senators left the chamber early Saturday after failing to approve the SAVE America Act, President Trump’s proposed proof-of-citizenship voting measure, and plan to revisit it in a future budget package.
Senators departed the Capitol in the early hours of Saturday, ending an extended session that had focused on President Donald Trump’s demand for a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill known as the SAVE America Act. While the Senate approved several other items, including the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche, a Russian sanctions package for Ukraine and a bipartisan funding measure to avoid a government shutdown, the voting bill did not advance.
Republican senators who had been pressing to keep the chamber in session spoke with the president late Friday and proposed to bundle elements of the voting legislation into a broader GOP budget package that would fund the war in Iran and increase Pentagon spending when Congress reconvenes in September. "Obviously, with the president at his direction, this is what he wants to do," said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the Republican budget committee chairman, after the call.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been balancing the president’s expectations with the limits of the Republican majority, noted that the Senate would eventually need to address another budget bill. He added that most members were largely on the same page regarding the next steps.
The SAVE America Act, which requires voters to present proof of citizenship for federal elections, lacks sufficient support among Republicans and would need Democratic votes to pass. Trump has urged the Senate to abandon its filibuster rules to push the bill through a 60-vote threshold, a move Thune and most senators have rejected. In a recent interview, Trump said, "John’s trying. He’s trying hard. I really believe that. But if he doesn’t get there, it would be unfortunate."
During a nearly 20-hour session, the Senate also considered a slimmer voting bill that would require ID for federal ballots; it failed on a party-line vote. After a brief conference among Republican leaders, the motion to adjourn was adopted by voice vote, despite objections from some senators.
The Senate is expected to revisit the voting legislation as part of a larger budget package later in the year.