Senate Adjourns Without Passing Trump’s SAVE America Act

The U.S. Senate wrapped up its session on Saturday without bringing President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act to a vote. This bill, which aims to mandate proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, now hangs in uncertainty.

However, there might be a potential strategy brewing for the president, which is causing some distress among liberals.

During an interview on Tuesday, Wayne Allyn Root, a host at Real America’s Voice, questioned Trump about the likelihood of employing executive action to temporarily achieve what the SAVE America Act intends.

“Getting the Senate to act on anything is tough,” Root mentioned. “With the Senate in recess and no progress on the SAVE America Act, they have the option to declare a national security emergency as the election approaches.”

He referred to a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1983 during the Reagan era, specifically in the case of INS v. Chadha, which established that a presidential declaration of a national security emergency is not subject to objection unless both houses of Congress vote against it.

That court decision asserted that the House’s veto of a governmental action must be approved by both legislative chambers and the president.

According to John Chappell’s analysis in Responsible Statecraft, the ruling practically nullified provisions for a “legislative veto,” ensuring continued Congressional oversight over the executive’s discretionary powers. Chappell noted that while Congress can delegate certain powers to the president, reclaiming oversight would necessitate a vote in both chambers, alongside the president’s signature. Typically, any attempt to overturn such a decision would likely face a presidential veto, requiring a supermajority to counteract.

“If we act in the next month, we could implement photo ID requirements, enforce citizenship checks, and impose restrictions on mail-in voting without needing a Senate vote,” Root told Trump.

While Trump suggested that the possibility might exist, he didn’t explicitly commit to this course of action.

“I notice something unusual; I understand that,” Trump remarked, hinting at unease but steering clear of specifics.

Although Trump didn’t clarify if he would move forward with this executive action, it seems to have stoked anxiety among liberals.

CNN reporter Aaron Blake characterized Trump’s hesitation to rule out this option as “a warning sign” that the president might pursue unilateral control to alter election procedures, echoing tactics he employed in 2020.

On the other hand, Steve Bennen, a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” noted that Trump could’ve easily dismissed the idea, emphasizing his commitment to upholding democracy. However, the absence of such a denial led many to believe that Republicans view this as a legitimate possibility.

Former presidential candidate Joe Walsh expressed his outrage, urging Democrats to prevent Trump from declaring a national security emergency to manipulate the upcoming elections before it happens.

Several Democrats, including those from the House Homeland Security Committee, echoed similar sentiments, asserting that denying democracy is at play, hinting at their fears regarding November’s elections.