President Trump is pouring considerable political capital into the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a bill he has privately conceded is unlikely to become law. This strategy has left many Republicans questioning the wisdom of prioritizing a long-shot measure over bipartisan legislation that could actually pass.
Trump's focus on the SAVE Act intensified after a Supreme Court ruling that upheld Mississippi's mail-in ballot counting law. Despite calling the ruling a blow to election integrity, Trump told reporters he doubts Congress will approve his bill. Yet he continues to elevate it above other priorities, including a housing bill that passed both chambers with broad bipartisan support. Trump canceled a signing ceremony for that housing bill last week, deriding it as a 'big yawn' compared to the SAVE Act.
One White House insider expressed frustration, saying, 'No good manager demands a grand slam every at-bat. Singles and doubles win games too. The SAVE Act is being run like a grand slam strategy, and we keep leaving runners on base hoping for one instead of taking the sure hits in front of us.' The source warned that this approach is 'a losing approach: We're striking out when we should be scoring.'
Republican operatives worry the fight is fracturing the party just 100 days before the midterms. 'You're creating discord at a time when you need to be coalescing your base and your party,' said one GOP strategist. 'That's the greater frustration.'
Critics argue Trump's push is part of a broader effort to sustain his unfounded claims about the 2020 election being rigged. Marc Short, Trump's former legislative director and chief of staff to Mike Pence, noted, 'By pushing the SAVE Act, it kind of feeds into that larger notion of stolen elections.' Others suggest Trump is setting up Senate Republicans as scapegoats if the party underperforms in November. The strategist added, 'He does not want to admit that anything that goes wrong in the midterms is related to him or his brand. It's the failures of Senate Republicans to nuke the filibuster and get this passed.'
The White House insists the SAVE Act has 'always been a top priority.' Spokesperson Abigail Jackson called it 'commonsense legislation supported by the vast majority of Americans that will secure our elections for generations to come.' The Republican National Committee echoed that sentiment, with election integrity director Ally Triolo saying, 'While Democrats want to cheat in our elections, Republicans are leading the fight to fully secure the ballot box.'
House conservatives, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), are pressing forward despite Trump urging them not to grandstand. Luna told reporters, 'I share his same frustrations. It is Senate Republicans that control the Senate, not Democrats, and that's why we're doing what we're doing.' On Tuesday, hard-liners blocked a procedural rule that would have merged the SAVE Act with the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass annual bill. The House then adjourned for the week, leaving GOP leaders scrambling to resolve the impasse.
Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the holdouts, accusing them of voting 'against the SAVE America Act.' He vowed to secure a unified yes vote down the line. 'It makes no sense for us to stop our very important progress forward from House Republicans because some Senate Democrats are refusing to do their job,' Johnson said. 'This is life with a small majority, and we'll work through it again.'
The internal GOP battle comes amid broader political turmoil, including a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding birthright citizenship that dealt a blow to Trump. Meanwhile, the party is also grappling with fallout from Trump's decision to welcome convicted election official Tina Peters to the White House. As the midterms approach, the SAVE Act fight underscores the tension between Trump's maximalist demands and the practical need for legislative wins.
