President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act election security bill by lawmakers’ break in August, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday.
“His patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the SAVE America Act passed as possible by the August recess,” Leavitt told reporters. “He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed.”
Leavitt added that “the Senate needs to do its job, too,” after the House passed multiple iterations of the bill.
For months, Trump has repeatedly said that the GOP needs to pass the legislation, saying it’s a popular bill supported by the majority of Americans. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he doesn’t have the votes to pass the bill or overturn the legislative filibuster to pass it with a simple majority.
During an event in Georgia on July 22, Trump made reference to the bill being stalled in the Senate, saying “it’s not right” with how the SAVE America Act is being considered.
“The Senate is a place that you send things when you want them to die. We’re not going to take this any longer. We’re not going to take it. … I’m trying to be nice,” he said.
The legislation adds proof of citizenship and photo identification requirements to voting, and it would also cut back on mail-in ballot usage across the United States.
While Thune has said he backs the SAVE America Act, he told The Hill on Thursday that there are not enough votes in the Senate to advance a recently passed House budget reconciliation bill that includes parts of the SAVE America Act, fund the Iran war, and a farm aid measure.
“As I’ve said before you got to get to 50, and I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution,” Thune told the outlet, referring to the number of votes he needs. “We’ll see. We’ll have those conversations with the conference. The priority is funding the government. To me that’s the thing we got to keep our eyes on.”
Trump weighed in on the budget resolution debate earlier this week, writing in a social media post: “I am asking all House Republicans to Vote Yes this week on the Budget Resolution, which is an important first step towards getting a Budget Bill. House Republicans must Unify, and fight for the SAVE America Act!”
“The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote,” the company told The Epoch Times on Wednesday. “Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.”
