House Speaker Johnson vows to push SAVE America Act through budget reconciliation after recess

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) brushed off concerns of a mutiny among House GOP ranks after Republicans brought the House floor to a halt over the SAVE America Act and reiterated his commitment to passing the bill. "The president has that as a top priority, and so do I. We passed it three times in the House. We're going to try one more time on a budget reconciliation bill, and I think that will be the way to get it through the Senate and finally to the president's desk," he told Fox News Sunday's Shannon Bream.

The logic behind the move stems from the reconciliation process, which allows a bill to bypass a Senate filibuster and pass with a simple majority. But reconciliation can only be used judiciously, Truthout reported, adding that the Act is not structured as a "budget-type" bill, which means the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, is likely to block it as she did earlier this year during the last reconciliation push. According to the Senate rules, reconciliation measures cannot include non-economic policies.

The House Speaker grumbled that the obstacle in his path is that there are only 53 Republicans in the Senate, but the party needs 60 to pass "substantive" legislation. "There is zero chance that seven Democrats are going to help us on election integrity, because as the president rightfully says all the time, they count on this. I think some of them allow for some cheating in elections because they can't win on their policies," he argued.

When asked whether Trump would accept the House version of the bill, which focuses on voter ID and proof of citizenship, over the Senate version, which includes restrictions on mail-in ballots, Johnson confirmed that Trump would like to add a prohibition on mail-in balloting, "except for exceptions, like if somebody's deployed overseas or they're ill or can't get to the polling place." But Johnson said Trump understands that provision to be "a bigger reach."

Johnson argued that requiring proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote would eliminate much of the problem with fraud, particularly in blue states. "Look at California. They're still counting ballots from an election that happened a month ago. It's crazy," he said. The act would require states to implement stricter proof-of-citizenship rules for U.S. residents to register to vote, which experts warn could disenfranchise tens of millions of otherwise eligible voters.

Trump has prioritized the bill, calling it "desperately needed" and even holding a bipartisan housing package hostage, refusing to sign it into law until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. The 80-year-old touted the measure in his July 4 speech, framing it as a way to "keep America great." "...all voters must show voter ID, provide a little thing called proof of citizenship. And there will be no mail-in ballots except in illness, disability, military deployment, or travel. And you won't have cheating in the elections anymore," he said.