House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Wednesday that Republicans will attempt to advance the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act through a third budget reconciliation package, a procedural maneuver designed to bypass Senate Democratic opposition.

The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and presentation of identification to cast a ballot. The bill previously passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to oppose it, leaving it short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster under standard procedures.

Johnson said at a Wednesday press briefing that he discussed with President Trump how reconciliation would be the only viable path forward for the legislation. Reconciliation is a special budget process that allows certain fiscal measures to pass in the Senate with a simple majority rather than the typical 60-vote threshold.

"The only path, I think, to get that done, because you're never going to get seven Democrats to join 53 Republicans in the Senate to do that... you have to put it on a reconciliation bill," Johnson said. "We're willing to invest heavily in that, and House Republicans will put together a reconciliation bill, reconciliation 3.0, that will have that."

Johnson told reporters he spoke with Trump about the approach earlier Wednesday morning. "The president said, 'I want to see some progress on it.' I said, 'I'd love to show it to you,'" Johnson added.

What the Right Is Saying

House Republicans and conservative advocates say the bill is necessary to protect election integrity and prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections. Supporters point to public opinion polls showing strong voter ID support across party lines as evidence of broad backing for such measures.

Johnson argued that a reconciliation vehicle could incentivize states to adopt stricter voting requirements by tying them to federal grant funding. "If you create a grant program that ties it to reconciling the budget, and you allow blue states, if they come to their senses and they want to avail themselves of election integrity proposals... they can draw down from a federal fund," Johnson said.

Trump has publicly pushed for voter ID legislation and canceled a signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing package Wednesday, saying he would not sign that legislation until the Senate passes the voter ID bill. The White House has signaled support for Johnson's reconciliation strategy as a workaround to Senate procedural hurdles.

What the Left Is Saying

Senate Democrats and progressive groups argue that voter ID requirements disproportionately affect minority voters, young people, and low-income Americans who may lack easy access to government-issued identification. Democrats have called the SAVE America Act a solution in search of a problem, noting that cases of non-citizen voting are exceedingly rare.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has repeatedly dismissed Trump's calls to eliminate or reform the filibuster to pass the bill, saying Republicans would need 60 votes under current Senate rules. The reconciliation strategy represents an attempt to work around that obstacle without changing Senate procedures.

Democratic opponents have also raised concerns about using reconciliation for legislation that addresses voting rights, arguing the budget process should not be stretched to accommodate policy priorities that lack genuine fiscal impact.

What the Numbers Show

The SAVE America Act passed the House in a party-line vote earlier this year with all Republicans supporting it and all Democrats opposed. It currently lacks the seven Democratic senators needed to reach a 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.

Senate reconciliation bills require only 50 votes plus the vice president's tiebreaker, meaning Republicans could pass the measure without any Democratic support if they maintain full caucus unity. However, the Senate parliamentarian earlier this year ruled that the SAVE America Act does not meet the requirements under the Byrd Rule to qualify for reconciliation, which prohibits extraneous provisions that do not affect federal spending or revenues.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), a conservative Republican who supports the bill, questioned the reconciliation strategy directly on social media Wednesday. "The save America act cannot be placed in reconciliation, and I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid. Neither should you," she wrote on X.

The Bottom Line

Johnson is scheduled to hold meetings with House Republicans on Wednesday to discuss potential contents of a third reconciliation package. Even some conservative supporters of voter ID requirements have questioned whether reconciliation can legally accommodate the SAVE America Act following the parliamentarian's ruling.

The strategy faces significant procedural obstacles. Under Senate rules, reconciliation provisions must have a direct budgetary impact and cannot include policy changes that are merely incidental to spending decisions. Republicans would need to craft language that satisfies these requirements or convince the parliamentarian to reverse the earlier determination.

What happens next: House Republican leaders will work to determine whether a workable reconciliation vehicle can be constructed. Trump has made election integrity legislation a priority, creating pressure on Senate Republicans to find a path forward despite the procedural and political hurdles.