House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that Republicans are exploring a strategy to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act through a third budget reconciliation package, offering a potential path around Senate Democrats' opposition to the measure.
Johnson's comments came shortly after President Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing package, declaring that he would not sign the legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act.
The legislation would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and mandate voter identification at the ballot box. While the bill has already cleared the House, it has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to block it, leaving Republicans short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Speaking during a Wednesday press briefing, Johnson said he had discussed the issue with Trump and argued that budget reconciliation may provide the only realistic route to passage.
“The only path, I think, to get that done, because you’re never going to get seven Democrats to join 53 Republicans in the Senate to do that … you have to put it on a reconciliation bill. We believe that if you create a grant program that ties it to reconciling the budget, and you allow blue states, if they come to their senses and they want to avail themselves of election integrity proposals and ideas and policies, they can draw down from a federal fund, and use those funds. We’re willing to invest heavily in that, and House Republicans will put together a reconciliation bill, reconciliation 3.0, that will have that,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that he outlined the proposal to Trump during a conversation Wednesday morning.
“I talked the president through that in detail this morning, as I have in the past, and he said, ‘Can we do it?’ I said, ‘We can, if the Republicans will stand together.’ We’re on the line right now to defend it. So that’s what we’re going to do. The president said, ‘I want to see some progress on it.’ I said, ‘I’d love to show it to you,’” Johnson said.
The speaker is expected to meet with House Republicans later Wednesday to discuss potential provisions for a third reconciliation package.
However, the proposal faces significant procedural hurdles. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has repeatedly rejected Trump's calls to eliminate or weaken the filibuster in order to advance the legislation through regular Senate procedures.
Questions also remain about whether the SAVE America Act could legally qualify for reconciliation under Senate rules. Earlier this year, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the measure does not satisfy the Byrd Rule requirements needed for legislation to pass with a simple majority vote through the reconciliation process.
Some conservative supporters of the bill have also expressed skepticism about Johnson's strategy.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) criticized the proposal Wednesday, writing on the social media platform X: “The save America act cannot be placed in reconciliation, and I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid. Neither should you.”
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