President Trump is ramping up pressure on GOP leaders to attach the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act to must-pass legislation, a move that would complicate an already difficult stretch on Capitol Hill.

Republicans in both chambers are racing to get a bipartisan housing bill, a long-term extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA) warrantless spying powers and a party-line immigration funding package across the finish line, even as internal GOP divisions, bicameral disagreements or procedural hurdles bog down each effort.

But Trump’s latest push on the GOP voting requirements bill is only creating more headaches for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump urged Republicans to attach the SAVE America Act to either the housing bill or a measure reauthorizing FISA’s Section 702. The SAVE America Act, which has stalled in the upper chamber over Democratic opposition, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot.

“Voter I.D., and Proof of Citizenship, must be approved, NOW. Crooked Mail-In Voting must be stopped!!! PUT IT ALL IN THE HOUSING AND FISA BILLS. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote in the post.

Trump has long pushed Republicans to pass the bill. In March, he told House Republicans at their Florida retreat that the SAVE America Act “will guarantee the midterms. If you don’t get it, big trouble.” His recent post comes as the 2026 midterm cycle intensifies, with Republicans eager to notch legislative wins and sharpen their messaging on election security ahead of November.

It also comes as Trump faces an unusual dynamic, with Republicans in Congress appearing more open to resisting his policy demands while also warily eyeing the success of his recent retribution campaigns against those who have defied him.

Conservatives in both chambers took up the SAVE America Act mantle, forcing weeks of floor debate in the Senate earlier this year and threatening to block bills in the House.

But tying the voting measure to either a housing or FISA bill would doom the measures, given that some Democratic support will be needed for both pieces of legislation in the House and the Senate.

House GOP leaders, for instance, are planning to use a special fast-track process called suspension of the rules to pass an amended version of a Senate housing bill this week. The process requires two-thirds majority support from the House.

Attaching the SAVE America Act would likely imperil Johnson’s ability to move the bill under suspension, since Democrats would oppose the added voting provisions. And even if GOP leaders attempt to advance the measure through regular order instead, it remains unclear whether Johnson could secure enough Republican votes for it to pass on the floor.

Getting such a bill through the Senate would also be a challenge. Most legislation requires at least some Democratic support to overcome a 60-vote filibuster threshold, meaning a housing package with the SAVE America Act would be dead on arrival in the upper chamber.

Attaching the SAVE America Act to a FISA reauthorization would face similar hurdles, as any long-term extension of Section 702 will need bipartisan support to pass both chambers.

Johnson has already faced significant pushback from members of the House Freedom Caucus and other privacy hawks, who want to include a permanent ban on creating a central bank digital currency and a warrant requirement in Section 702’s reauthorization. Congress ended up passing two short-term extensions of Section 702 via unanimous consent as lawmakers were deadlocked over reforms, with the latest extension expiring in mid-June.

Nonetheless, some Republicans are already seizing on Trump’s call as fresh momentum to pressure GOP leaders to revive the SAVE America Act.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote on the social platform X in response to Trump’s remarks that he agrees and “that is why we need to get rid of the filibuster.”

While the Senate launched a marathon debate over the legislation, it got stalled as other legislative priorities and the looming recess crowded the chamber’s agenda. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a leading proponent of the bill, has been urging Thune to resume the debate.

“Voter fraud happens. We must pass the SAVE America Act,” Lee wrote Monday on X.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who has threatened to oppose any Senate-passed bills until Thune takes up the bill, told Fox News on Sunday that she will work to ensure the SAVE America Act is attached to either the housing or FISA measure.

“Democrats, Republicans, independents, they all want it, and yet you have people in the Senate like John Thune saying that they can’t remove the filibuster or even embrace the talking filibuster, which is a workaround, and that’s simply unacceptable,” Luna said.

Trump, along with other conservatives, has been clamoring for Thune to sidestep Democratic opposition through the use of a “talking filibuster,” which would force Democrats to speak continuously on the Senate floor to delay the bill. In such a scenario, if Democrats ceded the floor, Republicans could pass the measure with 51 votes.

Thune has opted against using such a procedure, which he previously said is “much more complicated and risky than people are assuming.” He has also acknowledged that he lacks the votes to eliminate the filibuster, even as some Republicans continue pressuring him to take that step.

“I am going to have a lot of fun when we return to Washington, ensuring that SAVE America gets put into either housing or FISA, because you saw he [Trump] mandated it, and you know he’s a kingmaker in the party, and so I think that leadership will have a change of heart on that matter,” Luna said.

Vice President Vance urged Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act during a rally in Missouri on Monday.

“I’m not asking you to support congressional Republican leadership because you agree with everything Republicans do in Congress,” Vance said. “I get frustrated with them from time to time. By the way, pass the SAVE Act. That’s something they need to do.”

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