Republicans are pressing to tie voter ID legislation to Department of Homeland Security funding, setting up a high-stakes standoff with Senate Democrats ahead of a Feb. 13 deadline.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A new budget showdown is taking shape in Washington as Republicans demand that the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act be included in upcoming legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, even as Democrats warn that doing so would doom the bill in the Senate.
The dispute follows President Donald Trump’s signing Wednesday of a government funding measure that ended a partial shutdown and secured full-year funding for roughly 96 percent of federal agencies. DHS, however, was excluded from that package and remains funded only through Feb. 13, leaving lawmakers with days to resolve sharp policy disagreements tied to immigration enforcement and federal election rules.
Republicans are escalating calls to attach the SAVE Act to the DHS funding bill, arguing that voter ID requirements are essential to election integrity. The measure, which Trump has publicly backed, would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The dispute was detailed in a report by The Epoch Times.
Trump has also suggested that the federal government should “take over” elections if states fail to run them “legally and honestly.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said those remarks amounted to an endorsement of passing the SAVE Act.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have labeled the proposal a non-starter. They have demanded sweeping changes to DHS and its subsidiary U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a condition for supporting any funding bill, but have rejected including election-related legislation.
The DHS funding bill was separated from the broader spending package after Democrats refused to support it following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. Any DHS measure will require 60 votes to pass the Senate, though some House Republicans have floated changing Senate procedures to ease passage.
The SAVE Act, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, was most recently reintroduced and passed by the House in April 2025 but stalled in a Senate committee. The bill would require documentation such as a REAL ID–compliant license, U.S. passport, military ID, or other valid government records proving citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Supporters say the legislation responds to the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, which held that federal law preempts state requirements for documentary proof of citizenship in federal voter registration.
Conservative House Republicans have increasingly framed inclusion of the SAVE Act as a red line. Several members raised objections during the recent vote to end the partial shutdown, including Reps. Ralph Norman, Anna Paulina Luna, Tim Burchett, and Thomas Massie. Massie ultimately voted against final passage after an amendment to include the SAVE Act failed.
The Republican Study Committee has formally called for the bill’s passage. Rep. Brandon Gill, who is leading the RSC push, said, “American elections should be fair and free, not subject to foreign influence. Illegal aliens have no right to be in America, and they certainly shouldn’t be voting.”
Senate Democrats have been unequivocal in their opposition. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the SAVE Act would be “dead on arrival” in the upper chamber, calling it a “poison pill” that would derail any appropriations package it is attached to. Schumer argued the legislation would suppress voters and vowed Democrats would “go all out to defeat the SAVE Act.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will vote on the SAVE Act at some point, though he did not specify whether it would be considered as part of the DHS bill or as standalone legislation. “There will be at some point a vote on the SAVE Act,” Thune told reporters.
Negotiations remain unresolved. Sen. Katie Britt, a lead GOP negotiator, said lawmakers need more time to “figure out a pathway forward,” while emphasizing that both parties are negotiating in good faith. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key swing vote, expressed skepticism about reaching a deal before the Feb. 13 deadline, calling the window “so short.”
Some Republicans, including Luna, have suggested reviving the “standing filibuster,” which would require senators to physically hold the floor to block legislation. Murkowski dismissed the idea as unconstructive, while Sen. Rand Paul said he supports the SAVE Act but opposes changing filibuster rules.
With both parties entrenched and DHS funding set to expire within days, the dispute over the SAVE Act has become the central obstacle to avoiding another funding crisis.