On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump urged Republicans in Congress to allow a government shutdown to happen this fall if they cannot get a short-term spending measure in addition to election integrity reforms enacted into law.
The demand by Trump, who is running for the White House again this year, comes as the GOP-led House is considering a continuing resolution that would provide funding for the federal government for six months — through March 28 — in addition to instituting the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
“If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security,” Trump said on Truth Social, “THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET. THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO ‘STUFF’ VOTER REGISTRATIONS WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN – CLOSE IT DOWN!!!”
The SAVE Act, which passed the House as a standalone bill in July with some bipartisan support but never got taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate, aims to require that individuals show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in elections for federal office and pushes states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
Critics argue the SAVE Act is unnecessary and would create an undue burden on legitimate voters, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) released a white paper earlier this year in favor of the measure, warning of a National Voter Registration Act “loophole” in which states do not ask for proof of citizenship when registering an individual to vote in federal elections and cited evidence of noncitizens appearing on voter rolls in places such as Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia.
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While the six-month continuing resolution plus the SAVE Act is expected to get a final vote in the House as soon as Wednesday, it appears unlikely the proposal will prevail. Leading Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress have voiced opposition to the idea. Even if the plan somehow makes it past the House and the Democrat-controlled Senate, the White House said on Monday that President Joe Biden would veto the measure.
Congress is running out of time to reach a deal on a short-term spending measure if lawmakers returning to Washington, D.C., from their summer recess are unable to pass appropriations legislation to fund the various federal agencies for the coming fiscal year. A government shutdown could happen by the beginning of October — just weeks before a presidential election — without an agreement.
“I believe we can fund the government responsibly and I believe that we can do right by the American people and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “And I defy anybody to give me any logical argument why we shouldn’t do that. That’s why I’m so resolute about this.”
