Sen Mike Lee defends SAVE Act, calls Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ charge ‘paranoid fantasy’

Senate Democrats have criticized the GOP’s push to liken the voter ID law to discriminatory laws in the Deep South, but the bill’s architect in the Senate says their arguments are disconnected from reality.

“This is a paranoid fantasy,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told Fox News Digital. “These are ridiculous allegations. They should be ashamed of making these.”

Lee was responding to comments from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY), who doubled down on his claim that the Protecting American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is “Jim Crow 2.0.”

THUNE GUARANTEES THAT THE VOTER ID LAW WILL BE APPROVED IN THE SENATE DESPITE THE OPPOSITIONS OF SCHUMER AND DEM: ‘WE WILL VOTE’

The bill, which passed the House last week and was introduced and championed by Lee in the Senate, would require photo identification to vote in federal elections, proof of citizenship for registration and require states to keep voter rolls free of ineligible voters.

Schumer and his group plan to block the bill, arguing that it is a voter suppression tool that would disproportionately harm poorer Americans and minority groups.

But Lee argued that providing proof of identity or citizenship is routine in daily life, whether it’s passing a background check to purchase a firearm or filling out tax forms when starting a new job.

COLLINS INCREASED REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORTS, BUT NOT GIVING UP FILIBUSTER

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) told Fox News Digital that the SAVE America Act, the voter ID bill supported by President Donald Trump, will receive a vote in the Senate. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“Their logic is that Jim Crow requires someone to obtain citizenship before starting a job with a new employer, and that’s insane,” Lee said.

“And then here they are arguing that voting is so fundamental and that we have constitutional protections that protect our right to vote,” he continued. “Well, we have constitutional protections that protect our right to bear arms, but that doesn’t stop us from proving who you are and proving you’re eligible to buy a gun. That’s crazy.”

But without Democratic support, the path to sending legislation to President Donald Trump’s desk is complicated.

GOP REACHES 50-VOTE THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP-SUPPORTED VOTER ID ACT AS Senate Fight Approaches

President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) has vowed to introduce the Save America Act, and Republicans have the votes needed to push the legislation past its first significant procedural hurdle. From there, Democrats can thwart it with a 60-vote filibuster that Lee often calls a “zombie” filibuster.

Eliminating the filibuster is out of the question for many of Lee’s colleagues, but Republicans are warming to reintroducing the speaking or standing filibuster system, which would require Senate Democrats to make a case against the bill over hours of debate.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Trump has already suggested he would issue an executive order if the legislation fails, but Lee refused to speculate on that without knowing exactly what would be done.

But given the ever-swinging political pendulum in Washington, D.C., he noted, that’s an even more valid reason to pass the SAVE America Act.

“It’s still critically important that we pass this legislation because it does issue an order like this and it does most or all of what we need to do here, which gives us protection for now to whatever extent it can do that through an executive action,” Lee said. “But we need something that can outlast the time he is in office.”