{"id":2583451,"date":"2026-03-24T18:06:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-gop-balks-at-using-reconciliation-to-pass-save-act\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T18:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:09:58","slug":"senate-gop-balks-at-using-reconciliation-to-pass-save-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-gop-balks-at-using-reconciliation-to-pass-save-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate GOP balks at using reconciliation to pass SAVE Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenate-gop-balks-at-using-reconciliation-to-pass-save-act%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2583451&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Republicans are facing early resistance to using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-lawmakers-push-for-25-billion-for-electric-school-buses\/\" title=\"Democrat Lawmakers Push For  Billion For Electric School Buses\">reconciliation budget process<\/a> to push elements of the SAVE America Act, a move that would require near-unanimous GOP support in both chambers. senate Majority leader John Thune is weighing options but has not committed to a reconciliation path, as conservatives warn it coudl doom the legislation or waste Senate time.President Trump\u2019s demand to pair voter-ID legislation with DHS funding has been backed off, a concession Democrats oppose. Republicans are reportedly close to ending the DHS funding impasse by excluding $5 billion for ICE deportation operations,with those funds potentially folded into SAVE Act provisions to be pursued through reconciliation-but ther are serious doubts such a narrowly targeted package could pass the Senate with only Republican votes. Key Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins, have voiced skepticism about the approach, and Sen. Mike Lee has called it essentially impossible.The House is even more conservative, and the Freedom Caucus remains wary. Democrats show little willingness to cooperate on GOP priorities, and they want codified immigration reforms, leaving the path forward unclear.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Senate GOP balks at using reconciliation to pass SAVE America Act<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2540851\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\">John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) is running into early resistance to passing elements of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4495007\/save-america-act-showdown-relished-gop-democrats\/\">SAVE America Act<\/a> through reconciliation, a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/budget-reconciliation\/\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-weighs-whether-to-save-obamacare-tax-credits-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"... GOP weighs whether to save Obamacare tax credits - Washington Examiner\">party-line budget process<\/a><\/a> that will require near-unanimity among Republicans in both the House and the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday evening, Trump backed off his demand that the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/voter-id\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"162\">voter ID<\/a> legislation be passed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4500585\/trump-rejects-senate-gop-proposal-punt-ice-funding\/\">alongside funding<\/a> for the Department of Homeland Security, a tall order given near universal opposition from Democrats.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4501534\/schiff-curtis-team-up-ban-sports-betting-from-prediction-markets\/\">Schiff and Curtis team up to ban sports betting from prediction markets<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4501365\/stitt-appoints-alan-armstrong-fill-mullin-oklahoma-senate-seat\/\">Kevin Stitt appoints Alan Armstrong to fill Mullin&#8217;s Senate seat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4501257\/online-movement-against-john-fetterman-is-only-present-in-far-left-salena-zito\/\">&#8216;Online movement&#8217; against John Fetterman is only present in the &#8216;far-left&#8217;: Salena Zito<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But the concession &mdash; that Republicans would embark on a monthslong process to pass a narrow version of the bill through reconciliation &mdash; has frustrated Republicans who believe the process would doom the legislation, or at a minimum is not a good use of the Senate&rsquo;s time.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s a good approach,&rdquo; said Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susan-collins\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1302\">Susan Collins<\/a> (R-ME), the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans appear to be closer than ever to ending a monthlong shutdown at DHS, handing Democrats a symbolic win by agreeing to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >exclude  billion earmarked<\/a> for Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal operations.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, that money would be lumped together with the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act provisions Republicans may pursue through reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>There are serious doubts that either priority can get through the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> with just Republican votes, however, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-johnson-win-but-house-gop-uncertainty-remains-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump and Johnson win, but ... GOP uncertainty remains - Washington Examiner\">conservatives don&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t want to see deportations go unfunded.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the lead co-sponsor of the SAVE America Act, called it &ldquo;essentially impossible&rdquo; to pass the legislation, which requires voter ID at the polls and proof of citizenship when registering to vote, through reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>The process is narrowly targeted to legislation with budgetary effects, meaning Republicans would likely be limited to earmarking funds for ballot security or to incentivizing states to impose new voting restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of ICE funding, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) called the idea of passing the additional $5 billion through reconciliation a &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/video\/2026\/03\/24\/sen-rick-scott-not-funding-people-that-want-to-get-rid-of-criminals-is-the-craziest-idea-ever.html\">pipe dream<\/a>.&rdquo; In an interview on CNBC on Tuesday, he noted that Republicans only have a three<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-outraise-democrats-across-the-board-in-january\/\" title=\"... Outraise ... Across the Board in January\">-seat majority<\/a> in the Senate and struggled to pass Trump&rsquo;s tax law last year with those margins.<\/p>\n<p>Their majority is even tighter in the House, and the conservative Freedom Caucus has similarly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/freedomcaucus\/status\/2036446206126145927?s=20\">expressed skepticism<\/a> about using reconciliation to pass elements of the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n<p>Thune, who is still taking the temperature of his conference, has not publicly committed to pursuing a party-line budget process and has previously been reluctant to go down that path because of the difficulty of keeping Republicans united.<\/p>\n<p>Reconciliation is increasingly seen as a necessity, however, as Democrats signal they won&rsquo;t cooperate on an array of GOP priorities, from Iran war funding to the SAVE America Act to ICE removal operations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I mean, I&rsquo;ve said before, we&rsquo;ll look at all the options on SAVE America,&rdquo; Thune told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> on Tuesday. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;ve contemplated reconciliation for other things. We have a couple of vehicles available to us. And if we find that that&rsquo;s a viable path that makes sense to get some things done that we want to get done, we&rsquo;ll use it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), a GOP appropriator, called reconciliation part of a &ldquo;multi-step&rdquo; approach to getting ICE funded and argued that it will simply take time to build &ldquo;consensus.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;DHS is going to be funded,&rdquo; Hoeven said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to make sure of that they are now, and we&rsquo;re going to make sure they continue to be.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Republicans also note that ICE was funded as part of last year&rsquo;s tax bill, which also passed through reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats could provide the votes to reopen DHS as soon as this week and welcomed the willingness to split off the deportation dollars. But Senate Minority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-schumer\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"384\">Chuck Schumer<\/a> (D-NY) has told colleagues that the concession is not enough to earn Democrats&rsquo; votes.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4499421\/thune-trump-relationship-strong-save-america-rough-patch\/\"><strong>THUNE SAYS TRUMP RELATIONSHIP STILL &lsquo;STRONG&rsquo; DESPITE SAVE ACT ROUGH PATCH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Democrats want to codify the reforms they&rsquo;ve been negotiating with the White House after federal immigration agents in Minneapolis killed two protesters, but Republicans appear ready to back away from many of those proposed changes as part of agreeing to the ICE carveout.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re not going to have funding, I don&rsquo;t know how, all of a sudden, now you can demand reforms,&rdquo; Thune said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; Senate Republicans are hesitant to use reconciliation to push elements of the SAVE America Act, a budget process that would need near-unanimous GOP support in both chambers.<br \/>\n&#8211; Trump pulled back from insisting that voter ID legislation be funded together with DHS appropriations, a demand Democrats oppose.<br \/>\n&#8211; Some Republicans have floated a months-long reconciliation effort to pass a narrow version of the bill, but many see that as a poor strategy that could waste Senate time or doom the measure.<br \/>\n&#8211; Senator Susan Collins and other Republicans worry that pursuing reconciliation for this issue isn\u2019t a good approach.<br \/>\n&#8211; There\u2019s momentum to end the DHS shutdown by excluding $5 billion for ICE deportation operations, instead bundling that money with SAVE America Act provisions that could be pursued through reconciliation.<br \/>\n&#8211; Conservatives doubt either priority can pass the Senate with only Republican votes, and they don\u2019t want deportations to go unfunded.<br \/>\n&#8211; Senator Mike Lee says passing the SAVE Act via reconciliation is \u201cessentially impossible\u201d because it requires voter ID and proof of citizenship; reconciliation is generally limited to budgetary effects like funding for ballot security or incentives for states to adopt new voting restrictions.<br \/>\n&#8211; Senator Rick Scott calls the idea of routing the extra $5 billion for ICE through reconciliation a \u201cpipe dream,\u201d noting the narrow Senate margin and earlier difficulties passing Trump\u2019s tax law.<br \/>\n&#8211; The House majority is even tighter, and the conservative Freedom Caucus questions using reconciliation for SAVE America Act.<br \/>\n&#8211; Majority Leader John Thune has not committed to reconciliation and is weighing options, saying they\u2019ll act if it\u2019s a viable way to accomplish goals.<br \/>\n&#8211; Senator John Hoeven frames reconciliation as part of a multi-step approach to ICE funding and argues DHS will be funded, with consensus-building taking time.<br \/>\n&#8211; Republicans note ICE was funded in last year\u2019s tax package, which also used reconciliation.<br \/>\n&#8211; Democrats could vote to reopen DHS soon and are open to splitting out deportation funding, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the concession isn\u2019t enough to win Democratic backing.<br \/>\n&#8211; Democrats want to codify reforms discussed with the White House after a protest incident, but Republicans may back away from many reform provisions as part of the ICE carveout.<br \/>\n&#8211; Thune says if funding isn\u2019t available, it\u2019s unclear how reforms could be demanded; the piece emphasizes ongoing negotiations and potential paths forward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2583452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25253569866244-e1772997509648.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[6203,4762,15749,34333,3740],"class_list":["post-2583451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-gop","tag-legislation","tag-reconciliation","tag-save-act","tag-senate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25253569866244-e1772997509648.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2583451"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2583455,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583451\/revisions\/2583455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2583452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2583451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2583451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2583451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}