GOP unveils primary to take up Trump-backed voter ID bill despite internal divisions
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Senate Republicans on Tuesday successfully launched a takeover to put Senate Democrats on the record against Trump-backed voter ID legislation.
It’s a move to shift focus from GOP internal divisions over the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to Senate Democrats, ultimately holding back the votes needed to pass the bill.
“Not a single Democrat is going to support the SAVE Act. It’s a great bill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said on the Senate floor. “And if the Republicans try to burn time on this legislation down here, we will oppose them as long as it takes.”
TRUMP VOTER ID PUSH FACES SENATE Scrutiny AS GOP REBELS THREAT TO KILL BILL
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., and the GOP are bracing for a low-level battle with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and Senate Democrats over Trump-backed voter ID legislation. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
It is also the culmination of a campaign of pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., from President Donald Trump, conservatives in his congress, and a fervent online campaign to put the bill on the floor.
Trump said he spoke with Thune on Monday morning about the upcoming process and said he was “trying.”
“I hope John Thune can cross the line,” Trump said.
When asked if Trump understood the way forward, Thune said, “Well, I think he wants us to fight for our position, which we will, and see what the Democrats want to do.”
Still, opening what will be a multi-day marathon debate on the bill was not without its hiccups. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined all Senate Democrats to block the legislation. Sen. Thom Tillis, RN.C., who threatened to do everything in his power to block the bill, did not vote.
While a lobbying campaign from Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., were successful, in part, in getting the bill to the floor, it is still destined to fail.
Lee said during a video interview with X on Monday that he and Trump were confident they could win the battle if Republicans “worry about this, and we’re not going to let it go.”
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One, Sunday, March 15, 2026, en route from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Joint Base Andrews, Md. (Mark Schifelbein/AP)
Lee and Republicans are pushing Thune to hold a filibuster speech to undermine Senate Democrats and lower the threshold to pass the SAVE America Act for a simple majority vote.
But there was no unanimous support among Republicans for the measure, making the new idea a demographic problem that could easily backfire on the GOP, given that Republicans don’t have the votes to block several Democratic amendments that would significantly change the bill.
“If your senators don’t support using a filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, you may need to change them,” Lee told X.
With the first hurdle cleared, the Senate will now begin a marathon debate and amendment. Amendment votes will only come at the end of the floor battle.
And each amendment, which Republicans will control, must reach the 60-vote threshold, meaning none of the provisions Trump wants attached to the bill will survive.
TRUMP’S INTRODUCED VOTER ID BILL FAILS GOP AS TILLIS VOWS TO AVOID IT
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, Oct. 7, 2025 (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., will complete a series of amendments to the package with additions that include Trump’s desired changes to the bill.
That includes ending mail-in ballots, except for members of the military, disabled, and ill; banning men from women’s sports; and stopping transgender surgery on children.
Stopping mail-in voting is not something Republicans are doing, and many are pushing back against ending the practice.
Johnson acknowledged the delay ahead of the vote and acknowledged that absentee voting would not be completely stopped, but lawmakers must find “reasonable limits” on the practice.
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“I’ve argued with myself, you can’t block absentee ballots, or I won’t be able to vote,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “I’m here Tuesday in Washington, you know. So you have to have absentee ballots, but there have to be limits on it.”
Senate Democrats could be in for more pain as the floor battle continues, and they are turning to procedural cuts that could derail Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., has a confirmation hearing as the GOP races to install him as the next head of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security.
