The SAVE America Act is largely popular with Republican voters. But it could also be the party’s biggest obstacle to accomplishing the rest of its agenda.
The sweeping election reform bill has long been President Donald Trump’s top wish list item, with him repeatedly telling Republicans in Congress they should make it their No. 1 priority. And while Republican lawmakers largely support the provisions in the SAVE America Act, some are beginning to acknowledge the bill doesn’t have a path forward in the current political landscape.
“I want the SAVE Act, but we tried three times,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s not the way this place works. I mean, I want a Porsche for my birthday, I’m not going to get it. That’s not the way this place works, and that’s just — it is what it is.”
In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Kennedy and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, challenged Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s strategy of pushing for a “floor takeover” to pass the SAVE America Act — and expressed concerns the effort is dividing Republicans and undermining their agenda, according to a source familiar with the exchange.
The SAVE America Act, in its varying forms, was first introduced in early 2024 by Lee in the Senate and Texas Rep. Chip Roy in the House. But the bill has taken on new life after it became a fixation of the president earlier this year.
The bill seeks to establish proof-of-citizenship and voter ID requirements to vote in federal elections, something Trump would like to see implemented before the November midterms. While meeting with Republicans at his golf resort in Miami in March, Trump told House Republicans to prioritize its passage and that he wouldn’t sign any bill until the election bill reached his desk.
Trump upends GOP agenda with SAVE Act pressure campaign
That threat, which has been made several times since, has not been upheld. But it renewed a bout of frustration on Capitol Hill this week when Trump abruptly vowed not to approve a reauthorization of key government surveillance powers unless the election bill was attached.
“Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. “Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap.”
In that same post, Trump effectively canceled the nomination hearing for Jay Clayton, his pick to become the next director of national intelligence. Approving Clayton’s nomination is considered the main roadblock ahead of reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
That announcement jolted Senate Republican leaders’ plans to quickly confirm Clayton and renew FISA, which expired last week. And GOP leadership appears unsure of Trump’s larger strategy.
“Good question,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters when asked why he thinks the president is connecting FISA with the SAVE America Act.
Republicans grow quietly frustrated with bill they view as dead end
Thune has repeatedly sought to temper expectations on the SAVE America Act, telling reporters for weeks there is not enough support to pass the Senate. The bill would require at least seven Democrats to join Republicans in order to overcome the 60-vote filibuster.
“We are bound by arithmetic in the United States Senate. The votes currently aren’t there,” Thune said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Tuesday. “We will continue to put the Democrats on record. The Democrats are voting against an issue that 80% to 85% of the American people are for.”
Thune previously acknowledged that Trump has wanted to “add SAVE America to pretty much everything,” but the top Senate Republican has said it wouldn’t survive being attached to the government surveillance bill.
“That, you know, obviously, is not realistic to get the FISA bill done,” Thune said on Monday. “And we want to get the FISA bill done.”
Lee, meanwhile, has not let up on his own pressure campaign to put the SAVE America Act on the floor for a vote. The Utah senator has posted about the bill dozens of times on social media, calling for Republicans to restart his “floor takeover” to debate the bill continuously until Democrats forfeit the filibuster.
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“I remain a broken record: we’ll only pass this bill if we bring it to the floor and debate it nonstop until Democrats are either exhausted or irritated into doing the right thing,” Lee told the Deseret News in a statement.
Lee attempted the marathon debate strategy, known as the talking filibuster, earlier this year, but to no avail. And Republican senators don’t seem convinced it would work a second time.
“We tried it Mike’s way, you know, the long debate and all that,” Kennedy said. “And I just don’t know what else” to do.
In the closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Sens. Cornyn and Kennedy warned that Lee’s insistence has made Trump believe it can be passed, further complicating matters.
Lee has not endorsed Trump’s call to attach his SAVE America Act to the FISA reauthorization. The Utah senator currently opposes renewing the surveillance program unless it includes reforms such as warrant requirements.
Although Lee touted the president as “a tireless champion of the SAVE America Act and election security,” the Utah senator appeared to acknowledge pairing the two wouldn’t garner enough support to pass the Senate anyway.
“I’m glad he’s holding Congress accountable,” Lee said of Trump. “Unfortunately, every single Democrat—and a tiny handful of Republicans—have repeatedly blocked SAVE as an amendment to other legislation, and FISA will unfortunately be the same.”
Lee’s SAVE America campaign divides Senate GOP
But Lee’s determination to revive the SAVE America Act has prompted pushback from some of his colleagues, including those who originally signed on to the bill when it was introduced.
“Mike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this but you don’t have the votes,” Cornyn wrote in a post on X. “It is math. Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November.”
Mike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this but you don’t have the votes. @LeaderJohnThune can’t change that. It is math. Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November. https://t.co/pPsx67mkii
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 12, 2026
Cornyn expressed disdain for the attempt to pair the SAVE America Act with FISA reauthorization, telling reporters the delay of renewal has “basically blinded our intelligence community … by tying all these together.”
“And then also saying, ‘Well, you got to pass the SAVE America Act,’ which we know we don’t have the votes for?” Cornyn said on Wednesday. “We’ve got to find a solution.”
Lee has pushed back against arguments that there is no path forward for the SAVE America Act, telling Fox News this week that senators shouldn’t “fall for the hype that this is undoable.”
“We could pass it,” he said. “It’s only undoable if we choose not to go to the effort.”
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