Trump couldn’t be ‘pushing any harder’ on SAVE Act: Christian Datoc
Christian Datoc, a White House reporter for the Washington Examiner, reports that President Donald Trump is exerting maximum effort to pass the SAVE America Act, though it remains stalled due to insufficient votes in the Senate. The bill aims to require stronger documentation proving U.S. citizenship for voters, addressing concerns about voter fraud. Despite Trump’s push, Senate leaders like John Thune indicate Democrats are responsible for blocking the legislation, wich currently lacks the necessary 60 votes and may need changes to bypass the filibuster. Datoc emphasizes that the bill is partisan, with Trump supporting it against some Republican opposition, and criticizes Republicans for not working more effectively with Democrats. Additionally, there are concerns about the bill’s impact on married women whose legal names differ from those on their birth certificates, a point critics argue indicates political motives rather than policy focus. Datoc also notes that the bill has become more a political symbol than a substantive policy, with Democrats hesitant to cooperate, especially ahead of upcoming midterm elections. the debate highlights partisan disputes over election integrity measures and the political dynamics influencing legislative progress.
Washington Examiner White House reporter Christian Datoc said President Donald Trump couldn’t be “pushing any harder” for the SAVE America Act, underscoring that Republicans have yet to deliver the votes needed to send the legislation to his desk.
“I’m not so sure he could be pushing any harder than he already is,” Datoc said on C-Span’s Washington Journal Thursday. “The president has made it clear he is dead-set on passing the SAVE America Act.”
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The act would require stronger documentation that people registering to vote prove they are U.S. citizens. The president has been pushing for the SAVE America Act to pass, even refusing to sign the historic 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in protest, letting it become law without his signature.
Datoc noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Democrats should be held responsible for not passing the SAVE America Act.
Thune currently lacks the 60 votes needed to advance the bill. He has also been encouraged to change Senate rules to bypass the filibuster.
“The folks that have consistently blocked, voted against it are all the Democrats,” Thune said Wednesday. “To me, the issue here is the Democrats, and we ought to be going after them for opposing something that’s popular across this country, not just with Republicans, but with Democrats as well.”
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Datoc pushed back on Thune’s claim that Democrats should be blamed for the SAVE America Act’s failure, arguing the responsibility falls on Republicans to find a path forward.
“He’s actually in the wrong here,” Datoc said. “This is a partisan bill. This is something that President Trump wants, even against some of the wishes of the Republican Caucus. The onus should be on the Republicans to reach across the aisle and try and broker some type of accord with Democrats.”
He noted that since Democrats don’t want to give Trump a win, “this is up to Leader Thune to get this bill across the finish line.”
Washington Journal callers identified a potential barrier posed by the SAVE America Act for married women whose current last name differs from the one listed on their birth certificate.
Datoc said he also asked architects of the bill and outside activist groups about the same issue.
“They say that’s fake news, and I say, ‘Well, explain why that’s fake news?… Why aren’t Republicans working with Democrats if this bill is so important? To try and address this measure, rewrite the law in a way that there is either a carve-out for married women, or makes it clear that the line that the Democrats are using is not accurate,’ and the response to that is virtually crickets.”
Datoc said Republicans’ failure to directly address Democrats’ concerns about the bill, particularly questions surrounding how it could affect married women, has allowed critics’ claims to gain traction and left some voters believing the criticisms are accurate.
He said that at the core of the issue, everyone should agree that there should be no voter fraud in elections. However, “Democrats are hesitant to reach across the aisle, give this very slim majority in both the House and the Senate a lifeline, and of course they don’t want to give President Trump a win ahead of what’s shaping up to be a bloodbath, so to speak, in November,” referring to the midterm elections.
Datoc argued that the government should bear some responsibility for ensuring that affected individuals, including married women, have access to the resources they need to comply with the act to prevent voter fraud.
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“There should be some type of hurdles to gaining the right to vote,” Datoc said. “You have that right as an American citizen. It is a duty, not only a right, to vote. You should be able to go out of your way, go the extra mile a little.”
Datoc said the SAVE America Act has become less about its actual contents: “This has become a political issue and not necessarily a policy issue.”
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