Republicans are moving into the SAVE America Act as a marathon Senate debate begins
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Senate Republicans held out for a long time as they began to take the floor and indicated that the debate hours extended beyond the normal nighttime business hours were just the beginning.
The GOP unveiled its plan to take control of the Senate earlier Tuesday and spent the next hours praising and defending the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act as Senate Democrats slammed the bill as a voter suppression tool.
But without Democratic support, the bill is destined to fail. And the vote to open a marathon debate session, which lawmakers predicted could last days if not weeks, was an indication that support was not in the upper chamber to pass the SAVE America Act.
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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was determined to make sure the Senate continues to debate his voter ID bill until it “passes well.” (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
However, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the bill’s sponsor in the upper chamber and the attorney who led the lobbying efforts with the Senate Republican leadership to have the bill put down, argued Tuesday night that Senate Republicans will not throw away the opportunity in front of them.
“This is our time,” Lee said. “Stand for a simple principle; let the American people see who is willing to defend their sacred right to vote and who is not.”
Several other lawmakers took the floor in the afternoon and evening, with the debate often drifting off topic and into other issues of the day, such as President Donald Trump’s war on Iran or honoring Ohio service members who died on a refueling mission in the Middle East.
Democrats alleged that the bill went too far beyond voter ID and was designed to suppress multiple parties from voting.
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Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, speaks during a news conference with immigration experts, DACA recipients and Dreamers in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., accused Republicans of using the low-level job to distract from other pressing issues.
“Instead of focusing on the problem of unaffordability or trying to save us from endless wars, Senate Republicans are doing Donald Trump’s bidding again,” said Padilla. “This time, they put his conspiracy-driven election takeover bill as their top priority.”
Sen. Rep. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said repeated surveys and investigations have found that “you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than a non-citizen to vote.” Republicans say the bill is clearly designed to end that practice.
Merkley responded that the law was about “manipulating the November election.”
“And that’s exactly what Trump said — ‘Give me this bill, my party will win in November and every other election for a long time,'” Merkley said.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who is leading an amendment to include several changes in the bill requested by Trump, said “the republic has the right to separate citizens from non-residents.”
“That shouldn’t be controversial,” Schmitt said. “That shouldn’t be difficult. Voting is not a universal right. A vote is not a participation trophy for anyone who crosses our borders.”
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Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is leading an amendment to include several changes in the bill. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The floor debate is expected to continue over the next few days. Meanwhile, some Republicans believe they can sway Senate Democrats enough to pass legislation, despite the challenge of the 60-vote limit.
Lee and a group of like-minded Republicans pushed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., to turn to the speaker to pass the SAVE America Act, which, after weeks of debate, would have lowered the threshold for passing the bill to a majority.
Despite the pressure from his congress, Trump, and conservatives beyond the walls of Congress, this idea has become a mathematical problem that cannot be solved that the Republicans can rally behind.
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Lee, however, was ready for Tuesday night’s long drive.
“Let’s face it, there is no valid reason to oppose this bill,” said Lee. “And I stand by that, and I’ll continue to stand by that in the days and weeks to come. And I’m ready for many, many weeks. We’re going to stay with this bill until it passes, because the American people want and deserve nothing less.”
