A conservative-backed effort to tighten citizenship requirements to vote could complicate efforts to avert a government shutdown next month.
Lawmakers from both parties acknowledge some sort of stopgap measure, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), is needed to fund the government after Sept. 30.
But there are growing calls among House conservatives to use the mandate to force consideration of a partisan bill aimed at banning foreigners from voting, setting up a clash with a Democratic-led Senate that would likely reject such a measure.
The conservative House Freedom Caucus issued a public statement this month urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to include the bill, called the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, in next month's spending bill.
Since then, the right wing of the Republican Conference has only intensified its calls for the move, with many in the Senate and Tech MogulDemocrats are looking to make immigration a key election issue come November, but Elon Musk isn't saying that.
What approach he takes on spending will be one of the most important decisions House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) will make before the end of the year, affecting not only government funding but also whether he can maintain the support he needs to lead House Republicans next year.
Johnson has not ruled out adding the SAVE Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), and said at a press conference last week that discussions were underway to “build a consensus to make a final decision.”
“The SAVE Act is certainly a big part of this discussion,” Johnson said. “This isn't just an issue for the Freedom Caucus. It's members across the caucus who share our concerns about this. And we think this is probably one of the most urgent issues, the most immediate threat facing our country is the integrity of this election cycle.”
But at the same time, Axios ReportedSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) office has privately opposed attaching the bill to a stopgap measure next month.
Proponents of the SAVE Act argue that the bill would ensure that only citizens can vote in federal elections by requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship for voter registration and by requiring states to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls.
But most Democrats in Congress are strongly opposed to the bill. The Biden administration vowed to veto it when the House of Representatives considered the bill last month, noting that it is already a crime for foreign nationals to vote in federal elections. The White House also vowed to veto it. ClaimedThe bill would make it more difficult to register to vote and increase “the risk that voters will be removed from the voter rolls.”
The SAVE Act passed the House earlier this summer on a largely party-line vote, with five Democrats sponsoring the bill across party lines.
“What we're talking about is the simple concept that in a world where our country is open to foreigners, only citizens should be able to vote,” Roy said this week while touting the bill.
There is also a recognition among him and others on the right that the SAVE Act could be combined with stopgap measures to help bridge a bigger priority: extending current government funding through 2025 in an effort to avoid a comprehensive funding package of 12 bills at the end of the year.
“We can always find a way out,” Roy said, if Republicans can unite behind a CR that includes the SAVE Act first. “Whether that's a one-year CR or a CR through March, but it certainly shouldn't be a CR through December.”
But McConnell is not alone in his skepticism: Many House Republicans oppose attaching conservative policy riders to continuing resolutions that die in the Senate.
“Obviously, I support the House Republican policy. But I don't think it's right to attach it to the CR at this point. … I don't support it. Of course, if they did, I'd vote for it,” said Rep. Larry Bushong (R-Ind.).
“I'm hopeful that in the first week back we'll get an agreement on CR, possibly through an election,” said the Indiana Republican, who plans to retire at the end of the year.
Republicans in both houses of Congress are also skeptical of the strategy of extending government funding into next year as a way to give Republican President Donald Trump more leverage if he retakes office.
“I think a lot of people on both sides of the aisle want this bill to pass,” Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations subcommittee that sets the VA's annual budget, told reporters last month just before the Senate left town.
“We need to get it done this year, regardless of who wins the election,” Boozman said.
It is unclear how the SAVE Act's accompanying measure to maintain government budgets at current levels, already heavily criticized by hard-line conservatives, will be treated in the full House of Representatives next month.
“My problem with the CR is that spending stays constant. You end up with an omnibus budget or you end up with a year-round budget. Some people want to have a year-round budget,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). “Why not actually write a budget proposal? … It's all complicated and messy and crazy.”
House Republican leaders had aimed last month to vote on all 12 of the party's fiscal 2025 budget proposals before recessing in August, but intraparty disputes over spending and policy led to the House ultimately adjourning early after failing to approve even half of the bills.
Asked if he thought Johnson would attach the SAVE Act to a temporary bill next month, Biggs, who previously supported the ballot measure, said: Julyreplied, “I actually think he might.”
“The real question is, will it pass the House?” he added. “And I don't know.”
Michael Schnell contributed.
