{"id":2584018,"date":"2026-03-26T10:52:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:54:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:54:57","slug":"any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Any Republican Vowing To Pass SAVE Act Via Reconciliation Is Lying"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fany-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you%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=2584018&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>The Federalist piece examines the push to pass the SAVE America Act-an effort to require voter ID to vote and proof of citizenship to register-through budget reconciliation, and why that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >strategy faces steep hurdles<\/a> in a Republican-controlled Senate. It explains that while broad public support exists for voter ID, reconciliation is a budget mechanism, limited to spending and budgetary changes, and the SAVE Act is non-budgetary, making its path via reconciliation essentially unlikely. The article cites Republicans like Sen. John Kennedy, who argues reconciliation could be used to advance the act and even open up ICE funding, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who says a reconciliation bill could incorporate elements of the SAVE Act alongside other priorities. It also notes counterviews from Sen. Mike Lee, who calls the reconciliation approach \u201cessentially impractical\u201d for this non-budgetary measure, and describes the procedural constraints posed by the Senate Parliamentarian and the byrd Rule. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-calls-out-republicans-for-refusal-to-pass-save-act\/\" title=\"Trump Calls Out ... for Refusal to ... ...\">piece highlights ongoing political maneuvering<\/a>, including discussions in Politico and NBC News, and mentions concerns from the House Freedom Caucus about potential unlimited amendments if the reconciliation route is pursued. Brianna Lyman,an elections correspondent for The Federalist,provides context on the lawmakers\u2019 positions and explains how reconciliation works and what would be required to pass-or block-the SAVE Act.  <\/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<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wfBrqvEuEbs\">John Thune\/ Youtube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/26\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Any%20Republican%20Promising%20To%20Pass%20SAVE%20Act%20Via%20Reconciliation%20Is%20Lying%20To%20You&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/26\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Any%20Republican%20Promising%20To%20Pass%20SAVE%20Act%20Via%20Reconciliation%20Is%20Lying%20To%20You&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/26\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/26\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Any%20Republican%20Promising%20To%20Pass%20SAVE%20Act%20Via%20Reconciliation%20Is%20Lying%20To%20You&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/26\/any-republican-promising-to-pass-save-act-via-reconciliation-is-lying-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Requiring voter ID to vote and proof of citizenship to register to vote has broad support across party lines. The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act would implement those requirements in federal elections by amending the 1993 National Voter Registration Act.<\/p>\n<p>But the challenge in getting it passed is not public support &mdash; it&rsquo;s the Republican controlled Senate. Some Republicans have suggested the SAVE America Act could be passed through budget reconciliation, but such an option is &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BasedMikeLee\/status\/2036471097236058339?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">essentially impossible<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2142821380\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kennedy.senate.gov\/public\/press-releases?ID=67FA3D66-FE70-4BF5-9FE0-91AC117F1D80\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Kennedy<\/a>, R-La., said he &ldquo;would include the SAVE Act as part of that reconciliation bill, as well. We wouldn&rsquo;t need 60 votes. We wouldn&rsquo;t need 55 votes. We&rsquo;d only need 51 votes &hellip; I would go get a really smart lawyer and ask them to help us craft a SAVE Act that can survive a Byrd bath. I would do those two things in reconciliation or at least open up ICE through reconciliation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy also pushed passing the bill via reconciliation while on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/senate-republicans-debate-shortcut-for-trump-backed-voting-overhaul\/ar-AA1Z0BXE\">Fox News<\/a>, saying we &ldquo;ought to be [passing the SAVE America Act] through reconciliation, which only requires 50 votes plus the vice president.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are considering a reconciliation bill that would include parts of the SAVE America Act, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2026\/03\/24\/congress\/reconciliation-bill-thune-trump-dhs-ice-save-00841372\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he is working &ldquo;expeditiously&rdquo; to write a &ldquo;reconciliation&rdquo; bill that could &ldquo;implement elements&rdquo; of the SAVE America Act along with funding ICE and the Iran war, as the Hill <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/5799993-senate-budget-committee-moves-ice-funding\/\">reported<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/republicans-launch-reconciliation-america-act-iran-war-ice-rcna265091\">NBC News<\/a> only furthered his framing by claiming reconciliation &ldquo;allows the Republican-led Senate to bypass the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/swing-vote-sen-joe-manchin-says-he-will-not-dump-filibuster-for-gun-control\/\" title=\"Swing ... Sen. Joe Manchin Says He Will Not Dump ... For Gun Control\">60-vote filibuster rule<\/a> and cut Democrats out of the action.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But as Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BasedMikeLee\/status\/2036471097236058339?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mike Lee<\/a> posted, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation[.] And by &lsquo;hard&rsquo; I mean &lsquo;essentially impossible.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lee <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BasedMikeLee\/status\/2036629949050667105?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a> the legislation is &ldquo;non-budgetary. It can&rsquo;t pass with budget reconciliation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Reconciliation allows Congress to pass certain bills that pertain to the federal budget with a simple majority vote. But any provision in the reconciliation must directly relate to spending or be related to a budgetary change. The SAVE America Act does not include any explicit budgetary or spending provisions.<\/p>\n<p>And as the House Freedom Caucus <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/freedomcaucus\/status\/2036446206126145927?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a> in a post on X, &ldquo;Senate Republicans refused to force a talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act because it would have allowed Democrats to offer unlimited amendments. Now, Senate R&rsquo;s claim they will pass SAVE America Act via reconciliation (which may not even be possible under the Senate&rsquo;s arcane rules), which would &hellip; allow Democrats to offer unlimited amendments.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If a provision is determined to be policy-related rather than budget-related, a senator can object and once again, the legislation would be back to the 60-vote threshold. The parliamentarian, currently Elizabeth MacDonough, gets to decide if the provision is budgetary or policy-related. The Senate could overrule MacDonough &mdash; with 60 votes.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Senate leadership has not indicated it would pursue a talking filibuster. The talking filibuster would allow Republicans to pass the legislation by a simple majority vote without having to change any Senate rules. Such a method would require opposing senators to talk on the floor continuously in order to delay a vote. Once the opposing senators run out of their two-speech limit and exhaust themselves, the SAVE America Act would go to a simple majority vote.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, it appears the Senate would use cloture to end the filibuster if reconciliation fails, which means the Senate would need 60 votes to end the filibuster and pass the legislation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/filibuster\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Filibuster<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-kennedy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Kennedy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Thune<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/reconciliation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">reconciliation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SAVE Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-america-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SAVE America Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/talking-filibuster\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">talking filibuster<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-id\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voter ID<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the piece:<\/p>\n<p>Requiring voter ID to vote and proof of citizenship to register has broad bipartisan support. The SAVE America Act would implement these requirements in federal elections by amending the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The hurdle to passage isn\u2019t public backing but the Republican\u2011controlled Senate. Some Republicans have floated passing SAVE through budget reconciliation, but many view that route as basically impossible because the measure is not budgetary. Senator John Kennedy has suggested attaching SAVE to a reconciliation bill, arguing it could pass with 51 votes and survive Byrd-rule scrutiny with the help of a skilled lawyer; he even floated expanding ICE funding via reconciliation. He has pressed the idea on Fox News that SAVE could pass with 50 votes plus the VP. Politico notes Republicans are weighing a reconciliation measure that would include SAVE elements alongside ICE funding and Iran policy. Senator Lindsey Graham is reported to be drafting such a reconciliation package to implement SAVE components and fund ICE and Iran actions, with NBC framing it as a way to sidestep Democrats. But Senator Mike Lee says passing SAVE through reconciliation is essentially impossible because it is non\u2011budgetary. The House Freedom Caucus warns that Senate Republicans previously refused a talking filibuster to pass SAVE, and a reconciliation approach could still be blocked by arcane rules since a policy\u2011related provision can be challenged and would require a 60\u2011vote threshold unless the Parliamentarian rules otherwise. Leadership has not signaled support for a talking filibuster; if reconciliation fails, lawmakers would likely turn to cloture, which requires 60 votes, to end debate. Brianna Lyman covers elections for The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>55-character caption option:<br \/>\nVoter ID and citizenship proof gain cross\u2011party support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2584019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-25-at-4.38.35-PM-scaled-e1774471234852-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[15749,3756,72683],"class_list":["post-2584018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-reconciliation","tag-republicans","tag-save-act-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-25-at-4.38.35-PM-scaled-e1774471234852-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584018","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\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2584018"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2584022,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584018\/revisions\/2584022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2584019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2584018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2584018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2584018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}