Four Senate Republicans Join Democrats to Block SAVE America Act Attachment

Four Republican senators joined Democrats on Thursday to block an effort to attach the SAVE America Act to a nearly $70 billion funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. The legislation would have required voters to show proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, when registering to vote. It would have taken effect immediately if passed.

Background on the bill The House passed a version of the measure in February on a near party-line vote. The bill has remained stalled in the Senate, where it needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. The same four Republican senators blocked an earlier attempt to advance the bill in April, which was sponsored by Senator John Kennedy.

Positions within the Senate Senator Thom Tillis has said he would do everything possible to prevent the bill from moving forward. He argued that Republicans should instead consider legislation that would provide federal funding to states that adopt voter ID requirements.

Senator Mitch McConnell wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year that the bill would allow future presidents and Congress to impose sweeping mandates on elections. He said it would amount to a federal takeover of state-run elections. Senator Lisa Murkowski has said she does not support federalized elections and argued that the bill would violate the Constitution's assignment of authority over election procedures to the states.

Senator Susan Collins has said U.S. law already limits voting in federal elections to citizens. She has also said that requiring voters to produce passports or birth certificates on election day would place an unnecessary burden on voters.

Tuberville posted on X that the four senators had betrayed their constituents and were accomplices in Democrats' agenda. MAGA commentator David J. Freeman posted on X that voting against the bill was treason against the American people.