Trump Urges GOP to Pursue Reconciliation Package for SAVE America Act Provisions and Defense Funds After Senate Stalls Bill

President Donald Trump on July 7 urged Republican leaders to make a budget reconciliation package their top priority to advance portions of the SAVE America Act along with defense funding. Trump posted on social media that the SAVE America Act paired with full funding of the Department of War can be passed very quickly through the process.

He wants the package, referred to as reconciliation 3.0, to include $350 billion for defense needs.

The president met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, the same day. Last month Trump had said he would not consider using reconciliation to pass pieces of the SAVE America Act. House Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed creating a grant program that would give states financial incentives to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot.

Johnson said on Fox News Sunday that Trump would like to add a prohibition on mail-in balloting except for exceptions such as overseas deployment or illness, but understands it is a bigger reach. The House-passed version of the SAVE America Act has stalled in the Senate amid a Democratic filibuster and opposition from some GOP senators.

Johnson stated that proof of citizenship and photo ID requirements would eliminate much of the fraud in elections, particularly in blue states.

Trump's fiscal 2027 budget request asked Congress for a total of $1.5 trillion for defense, with roughly $1.1 trillion from annual discretionary appropriations and the remainder in mandatory appropriations through budget reconciliation. 0 process to begin as soon as Congress returns to session next week.