Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) just handed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) another chance to prove Republicans can govern when the issue is simple, popular, and tied to the basic question of who gets to choose America's leaders.
Johnson said Sunday that the House will try to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act “one more time” through a budget reconciliation bill. President Donald Trump has made the SAVE America Act a top priority, and Johnson said he shares that urgency. From Just the News:
“The president has that as a top priority, and so do I,” Johnson said on Fox News Sunday. “We passed it three times in the House. We’re going to try one more time on a budget reconciliation bill, and I think that will be the way to get it through the Senate, and finally, to the president’s desk.”
Johnson said the House version of the bill contains the “backbone” of what President Donald Trump is looking to pass in the Senate, according to The Hill.
While President Trump wants the bill to include a prohibition on mail-in voting, with exceptions, Johnson said the “bigger reach” is having the bill focus on all voters providing proof of citizenship when registering to vote and presenting a photo ID before actually voting.
“That eliminates the problem, all the fraud and everything that everybody’s concerned about in our elections, particularly, frankly, in these blue states,” Johnson said.
The goal is proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote and photo ID before casting a ballot in federal elections.
The bill's core idea shouldn't require a seminar, a focus group, or a spine transplant in the Senate cloakroom. American citizens should decide American elections. The White House's SAVE America page says the bill would require valid ID before registration, proof of citizenship, limits on mail-in ballots with exceptions, and state removal of noncitizens from voter rolls.
The House has already done its part more than once. The House passed a version of the SAVE Act in April 2025 by a 220-208 vote. In February 2026, the House Rules Committee moved S. 1383 with the text of the newer SAVE America Act, and the House passed the updated bill 218-213, with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) joining Republicans.
Thune knows the argument because he has made it himself. In March, the Senate majority leader wrote that proof of citizenship and photo ID are “common sense.” He also noted current federal law lacks a requirement for voters to prove citizenship, while ID rules vary by state. Thune spelled it out quite clearly.
Requiring proof of citizenship and a photo ID to vote are just common sense, and they are consistent with other aspects of daily life. Americans are required to prove they’re eligible to join the military, to receive government benefits, and eligible to work before they can start a job in this country. They have to show a photo ID at a doctor’s office, before getting on a plane, and to get a library card. Is it really too much to ask the same before they cast a ballot? I don’t think so.
In addition to protecting our elections, the SAVE America Act is also about protecting young Americans from the effects of the left’s radical gender ideology. It does that in two ways: keeping biological men out of women’s sports and banning gender transition procedures for minors. In recent years, we’ve seen biological men take roster spots – and opportunities to win titles and medals – from female athletes. And we’ve seen increasing numbers of children being subjected to gender transition procedures – and the many serious side effects that can result. We’ve also seen tragic cases of children who were subjected to these surgeries and medications who are now living with the consequences of a gender transition procedure that they have come to regret. The SAVE America Act would put a stop to this madness.
These policies are just intuitively obvious for most Americans. But throughout the ongoing debate on this bill, our Democrat colleagues have proved that common sense is not all that common on their side of the aisle. Polls show that these policies have support from the majority of the American people, yet the Democrat leader has called the SAVE America Act “radical,” which only proves how out of touch Democrats are on these issues.
This bill should be an easy “yes” vote for every member of Congress, and that’s the case Republicans have made throughout this debate. But our arguments seem to fall on deaf ears among Democrats who have parted ways with common sense.
So the problem isn't ignorance; it's motion.
Polls give Republicans no excuse to mumble their way out of it. The White House cited March polling showing 71% support for the SAVE America Act, 81% support for voter ID, 80% support for removing noncitizens from voter rolls, and 75% support for proof of citizenship to vote.
Gallup's 2024 election survey found 84% support for photo ID at the polling place and 83% support for proof of citizenship when people register for the first time.
Opponents warn the bill could make registration harder for eligible voters who lack ready access to documents. The National Conference of State Legislatures notes the bill would impose stricter ID rules than most states use, require documentary proof of citizenship, and create immediate responsibilities for state election offices.
The Bipartisan Policy Center found about 12% of registered voters may lack ready access to documents most likely to satisfy federal proof-of-citizenship proposals.
Those concerns deserve practical answers, not surrender. Congress can protect lawful voters while shutting the door on unlawful registration. It can add clear document paths, name-change fixes, and help for older voters, military voters, rural voters, disabled voters, and citizens born at home.
Hard cases should improve the bill, not bury it.
The Senate loves to call itself deliberative when it really means slow. Thune has the title, the majority, Trump's pressure, House action, and public support. If Republicans can't move an election-integrity bill backed by roughly three-quarters of the country, voters will ask why they gave the party power in the first place.
Johnson keeps passing the SAVE Act, Trump keeps demanding it, and Thune keeps standing where legislation goes to wait.
At some point, patience starts looking like refusal.
PJ Media VIP is on special right now. Use promo code FIGHT for the discount and support independent voices that keep pressing when Washington would rather stall, posture, and hope voters forget.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member