U.S. Senate adjourns without passing Trump's voting bill; will try again in September
Republican senators broke a standoff with President Trump over a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill by promising to revive it as part of a broader budget package when Congress returns next month.
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U.S. senators headed for the exits in the predawn hours Saturday, ending a weeks-long standoff over President Donald Trump's demand that they pass a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill before summer recess. The SAVE America Act did not advance.
Trump had poked and prodded Senate Majority Leader John Thune for weeks to push the bill through, even pressuring the chamber to abandon its filibuster rules to bypass the 60-vote threshold typically required to advance legislation. The bill lacked sufficient Republican support, let alone Democratic votes.
Rather than capitulate entirely, Republican senators spoke with Trump late Friday evening about an alternative: they would attempt to approve elements of the voting bill as part of a broader GOP budget package designed to fund the Iran war and replenish the Pentagon when Congress returns in September.
"Obviously, with the president at his direction, this is what he wants to do," said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the GOP budget committee chairman, flanked by Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, after their call with Trump.
Thune, who had carefully balanced the president's demands against the political reality of his slim Republican majority, said senators were "for the most part, on the same page" about revisiting the bill later. Republicans are currently down one vote due to the prolonged absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was released from a rehabilitation center this week and is recovering at home.
During a nearly 20-hour session Saturday, senators did advance many of Trump's other priorities. They confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general, passed a sweeping sanctions package to aid Ukraine, and approved a bipartisan government funding bill through December. Republicans also tried to push a slimmer voting bill requiring voter ID for federal elections, but it failed on a largely party-line vote.
The standoff underscores Trump's deep reach into Congress's affairs, directing both the House and Senate agenda despite holding no legislative office.
By the numbers
When will the Senate try again to pass Trump's voting bill?
The Senate will attempt to pass elements of the SAVE America Act as part of a broader GOP budget package when Congress returns in September 2026.
Why did the SAVE America Act fail to advance before the August recess?
The bill lacked sufficient Republican support to reach the 60-vote threshold typically required to advance legislation, let alone secure Democratic votes.
