President Donald Trump urged House Republicans on Monday to push forward aggressively with a GOP-backed voting requirements bill, arguing that passing the legislation would be critical to the party’s success in the upcoming midterm elections.
Speaking at the House GOP’s annual issues conference in Florida, Trump told lawmakers that the measure would help secure Republican victories at the ballot box and warned that failing to pass it could carry serious political consequences.
“It will guarantee the midterms. If you don’t get it, big trouble,” Trump said.
The president also made clear that he intends to use his leverage to force action on the legislation, reiterating that he will not sign other bills until the measure reaches his desk.
According to Trump, voters he encounters across the country have made the proposal a top priority.
“The people are demanding it,” Trump said. “Every time I go out, save America! Save America! We want the SAVE America Act! That’s all they talk about. They don’t talk about housing. They don’t talk about anything. That’s what they talk about.”
“If you send it up there, you will win the midterms and you will win every election for a long time,” he added.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act would require individuals to provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote and to present identification when casting a ballot.
The bill passed the House earlier this year in February by a narrow 218–213 vote. However, it has since stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have argued the proposal could create new barriers to voting.
Because of the Senate’s filibuster rules, the legislation would require support from at least some Democrats in order to advance.
Trump encouraged House Republicans not only to continue pushing the measure but also to consider strengthening it with additional provisions before sending it back to the Senate.
Among the ideas he suggested were tighter limits on mail-in voting, allowing such ballots only in cases involving illness, disability, military service, or travel. Trump also said the legislation could include a prohibition on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
“If you could, if I could ask the people in this room, to go for the gold. We are going for the gold,” Trump said. “We’re not going for the bronze. We’re not going to sign a watered-down version like it’s been sent up there.”
“Let’s go for the gold, and let’s just not accept anything else,” he continued. “I will tell you what, I’m willing to just sort of say I’m not going to sign anything until this is approved.”
The president echoed that stance in a Truth Social post over the weekend, again declaring that he would not sign other legislation until the SAVE America Act is passed.
Democrats have strongly opposed the proposal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the measure in a post on X, calling it “Jim Crow 2.0.”
“It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people,” Schumer wrote. “If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate.”
“Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances,” he added.
In response to the stalemate, Trump and other conservative lawmakers have urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to consider changing the way the Senate handles filibusters by reviving a “talking filibuster.” Under that approach, opponents of a bill would be required to remain on the Senate floor and speak continuously to delay the legislation. Once they stop speaking, Republicans could move forward with a simple majority vote.
“I think the Senate has to approve it,” Trump said Monday. “And they’re going to have to go the filibuster, and maybe it’s going to be the talking filibuster … but they have to get it done.”
Still, Thune has warned that pursuing such a strategy could complicate other legislative priorities.
He noted that forcing a showdown over the SAVE America Act could make it more difficult to advance government funding legislation or a bipartisan measure aimed at making housing more affordable.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Thune said the idea of a talking filibuster may not be as simple as some lawmakers believe.
“It’s much more complicated and risky than people are assuming at the moment,” he said.
