Last week, Senate Republicans set into motion an extended debate on the SAVE America Act (S. 1383) in an attempt to highlight, and hopefully change, Democrats’ opposition to an overwhelmingly popular idea. One week later, Republicans are continuing their push for common-sense election reform. Concurrently, the Senate was able to confirm Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of Homeland Security, as the Democrats continue to block funding for that agency while TSA lines at airports continue to grow.
Most Senators stayed in Washington, D.C. over the weekend to continue debating the SAVE America Act. Republican Senators have given over 50 speeches in support of the legislation. As we reported last week, a number of amendments have been offered to the bill as well. On Saturday, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) offered an amendment to protect women’s sports by preventing biological males from playing on female teams. This vote failed by a strictly party-line vote of 49-41. All Republicans who were there voted for the amendment. Sen. Tuberville called the event “Groundhog Day” because it was the fourth time the Democrats have rejected protections for girls’ sports in his 6 years as a Senator. He stated in a post on X:
This is an 80-20 issue but, as usual, woke Democrats are siding with the 20%. I encouraged every one of them to look into the camera and explain to their sisters, daughters, and granddaughters why they are okay with their rights being stolen by a man dressed up as a girl.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) also offered an amendment to call Democrats’ bluff on voter identification. After Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Our objection as Democrats is not to a photo ID” but to other elements of the bill, Sen Husted offered an amendment to modify the SAVE America Act to just require ID at the polls. He asked for unanimous consent, but not surprisingly, the Democrats blocked the measure.
Before the Senate confirmed the new DHS Secretary on Monday, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), sponsor of the SAVE America Act, said:
We are simultaneously talking between [the SAVE Act], for Markwayne Mullin to be the next DHS Secretary, and legislation to keep the Department of Homeland Security funded… now that it has been defunded for well over a month. There is a parallel between all three of these things. In all three instances, our Democratic colleagues are dragging their heels. In all three instances, they are trying to stop something or a series of things that could result in our ability to secure our homeland, to enforce the laws governing our border… and ultimately safeguarding our elections.
A few ideas have been floated to get the SAVE America Act across the finish line. One idea is to put the bill into a reconciliation package – using the same process requiring only 51 votes that was used for the One Big, Beautiful Bill. However, the rules for reconciliation in the Senate require that all provisions have a budgetary or fiscal component. Language that is just a policy change is banned from the bill. The SAVE America Act as currently written does not increase or decrease revenue, so it could easily be stripped out of a reconciliation bill in the Senate.
The SAVE America Act isn’t the only measure that has been suggested to accompany a reconciliation package. This week, Senate Leadership sent a proposal to Democrats to open up DHS after nearly 40 days of a shutdown. The plan included carving out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and passing the funding for the rest of DHS. ICE funding would be addressed in a still-hypothetical upcoming reconciliation bill. Let’s be clear: removing ICE funding from DHS is a terrible idea. DHS serves to protect the United States whether through the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Secret Service, or ICE. Removing one of these elements in hopes that Democrats will not block a future bill leaves our nation incredibly vulnerable. And while reconciliation is a great tool in some instances, it does not make up for bad policies and negotiations in other bills.
Fortunately, the proposal was dead on arrival. Removing ICE from the DHS funding went too far for many Republicans. Democrats rejected the idea without the inclusion of crippling ICE reforms. The House Freedom Caucus called the reconciliation play “gaslighting” — signaling that such a deal would not be able to be passed by the House of Representatives if it were sent back. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to offer a counterproposal in the upcoming days.
Until an agreement can be reached, the American people are still suffering under the DHS shutdown. Americans who work for the various agencies in DHS have already missed paychecks and are trying to make ends meet. Spring Break vacations and other trips are disrupted by long lines at airports as some TSA agents are calling out sick rather than working without pay. As the White House says, if you are stuck standing in one of those lines, thank a Democrat!
Both the House and Senate are scheduled to recess for two weeks starting Monday for the Easter holiday, so Senators are feeling pressure to strike a deal on DHS soon. The President has requested that Senators stay in town until they can get something to his desk and even offered to have their families join him for Easter dinner at the White House.
In better news, Senators successfully confirmed Markwayne Mullin to serve as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security this week. Mullin formerly served in the Senate representing Oklahoma when he was nominated by President Trump to fill Kristi Noem’s previous role. Two Democrats voted in favor of his confirmation.
Eagle Forum is supportive of the continued debate on the SAVE America Act. To encourage your Senators to hold the line, you can send them an email or call them with the information on our website here. Ask your Republican Senators to keep debating this important legislation. Don’t forget to call the Democrat Senator’s offices and let them know you support voter ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote!
In addition, we encourage Senators to keep ICE funding in the DHS appropriations bill and urge all Senators to pass DHS funding for the entire department immediately. The safety of our elections, children, and communities depends on these bills moving forward.