{"id":2025,"date":"2026-06-17T21:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2025"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:37:40","slug":"mike-lees-stalled-election-bill-divides-republicans-who-privately-believe-theres-no-path-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2025","title":{"rendered":"Mike Lee\u2019s stalled election bill divides Republicans who privately believe there\u2019s no path forward"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The SAVE America Act is largely popular with Republican voters. But it could also be the party\u2019s biggest obstacle to accomplishing the rest of its agenda. <\/p>\n

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The sweeping election reform bill has long been President Donald Trump\u2019s 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\u2019t have a path forward in the current political landscape. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want the SAVE Act, but we tried three times,\u201d Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters on Wednesday. \u201cThat\u2019s not the way this place works. I mean, I want a Porsche for my birthday, I\u2019m not going to get it. That\u2019s not the way this place works, and that\u2019s just \u2014 it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Kennedy and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, challenged Utah Sen. Mike Lee\u2019s strategy of pushing for a \u201cfloor takeover\u201d to pass the SAVE America Act \u2014 and expressed concerns the effort is dividing Republicans and undermining their agenda, according to a source familiar with the exchange. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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\u2019t sign any bill until the election bill reached his desk. <\/p>\n

Trump upends GOP agenda with SAVE Act pressure campaign<\/h3>\n

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. <\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, 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,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. \u201cNot complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s nomination is considered the main roadblock ahead of reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.<\/p>\n

That announcement jolted Senate Republican leaders\u2019 plans to quickly confirm Clayton and renew FISA, which expired last week. And GOP leadership appears unsure of Trump\u2019s larger strategy. <\/p>\n

\u201cGood question,\u201d 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. <\/p>\n

Republicans grow quietly frustrated with bill they view as dead end<\/h3>\n

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. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are bound by arithmetic in the United States Senate. The votes currently aren\u2019t there,\u201d Thune said in an interview with Fox News\u2019 Bret Baier on Tuesday. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thune previously acknowledged that Trump has wanted to \u201cadd SAVE America to pretty much everything,\u201d but the top Senate Republican has said it wouldn\u2019t survive being attached to the government surveillance bill. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat, you know, obviously, is not realistic to get the FISA bill done,\u201d Thune said on Monday. \u201cAnd we want to get the FISA bill done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cfloor takeover\u201d to debate the bill continuously until Democrats forfeit the filibuster. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI remain a broken record: we\u2019ll 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,\u201d Lee told the Deseret News in a statement. <\/p>\n

Lee attempted the marathon debate strategy, known as the talking filibuster, earlier this year, but to no avail. And Republican senators don\u2019t seem convinced it would work a second time. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried it Mike\u2019s way, you know, the long debate and all that,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cAnd I just don\u2019t know what else\u201d to do. <\/p>\n

In the closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Sens. Cornyn and Kennedy warned that Lee\u2019s insistence has made Trump believe it can be passed, further complicating matters. <\/p>\n

Lee has not endorsed Trump\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Although Lee touted the president as \u201ca tireless champion of the SAVE America Act and election security,\u201d the Utah senator appeared to acknowledge pairing the two wouldn\u2019t garner enough support to pass the Senate anyway. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad he\u2019s holding Congress accountable,\u201d Lee said of Trump. \u201cUnfortunately, every single Democrat\u2014and a tiny handful of Republicans\u2014have repeatedly blocked SAVE as an amendment to other legislation, and FISA will unfortunately be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s SAVE America campaign divides Senate GOP<\/h3>\n

But Lee\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cMike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this but you don\u2019t have the votes,\u201d Cornyn wrote in a post on X. \u201cIt is math. Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
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Mike, I am a co-sponsor and have repeatedly voted for this but you don\u2019t have the votes. @LeaderJohnThune can\u2019t 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<\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 12, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Cornyn expressed disdain for the attempt to pair the SAVE America Act with FISA reauthorization, telling reporters the delay of renewal has \u201cbasically blinded our intelligence community \u2026 by tying all these together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then also saying, \u2018Well, you got to pass the SAVE America Act,\u2019 which we know we don\u2019t have the votes for?\u201d Cornyn said on Wednesday. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t \u201cfall for the hype that this is undoable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could pass it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s only undoable if we choose not to go to the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Some Republican senators are beginning to acknowledge there isn\u2019t enough support to pass the election reform bill despite the president\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMike Lee\u2019s stalled election bill divides Republicans who privately believe there\u2019s no path forward - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mike Lee\u2019s stalled election bill divides Republicans who privately believe there\u2019s no path forward - 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