USA

Passing SAVE America Act before midterms is an ‘impossible task’

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Sunday that getting the Protecting American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act passed in the Senate is a “mission impossible.”

“You know, I have people telling me that I should immediately implement the RELIEF Act in North Carolina, a voter ID state,” Tillis told CNN’s Jake Tapper during an interview on “State of the Union.”

He then asked why he was “forced to pursue the impossible task of introducing a bill that cannot be implemented within that time frame” for the next four months.

“Why are we doing more to undermine our confidence in elections this year rather than sending the strong message that Republicans will win?” the North Carolina Republican added.

Tillis argued that Republicans should accept the way current election laws work and win, as well as tell voters about the “rise of America’s democratic socialists,” citing recent victories by candidates backed by the left-wing organization in New York.

“Win with the good results Republicans have achieved and stop undermining confidence in elections,” Tillis said. “This is the cornerstone of our 250-year track record as a world-changing democracy. Let’s not deal with this between now and November.”

Tillis previously co-sponsored a version of the SAVE America Act but opposed President Trump’s effort to pass the bill by eliminating the filibuster.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) made similar statements about the RELIEVE America Act.

On Sunday, the Louisiana senator told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that he spoke with Trump last week and was unable to say what the president’s “priorities are beyond the RELIEF Act.”

“We did this in Louisiana,” he told Brennan. “There was no disenfranchisement whatsoever, but we had a reputation for corrupt choices, and now everyone accepts that our choices were pretty basic. We erased that reputation from, you know, thirty or forty years ago. So, I… think it’s reasonable to ask for an ID.”

But Cassidy later said there was “no vote” to pass the SAVE America Act, joining Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) in his public comments about any attempt to pass the bill through the Senate, with or without a filibuster.

Trump set out to make the Save America Act his top legislative priority. The bill would require proof of citizenship to be presented when registering to vote and photo identification to be presented when voting.

Last week, Trump refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill ahead of his meeting with Senate Republicans, urging them to pass the RELIEVE America Act.

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signings are canceled until we pass the desperately needed RELIEVE AMERICA ACT. What I consider to be a National EmergencyTrump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.

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