As the Senate prepares to break for August recess and rushes to pass a government funding bill by the end of today, the biggest question remains whether the Senate will finally pass the SAVE America Act before the midterm elections.
Trump again called on Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act in a Thursday interview with Punchbowl News, demanding that they terminate the filibuster and pass the voter ID legislation “immediately,” along with “about 400 other things in every hour of every day.”
There was a glimpse of hope for the SAVE Act earlier, when Senator John Kennedy appeared on Fox News to claim that Senate Leader John Thune is going to bring the SAVE Act to the floor today in the budget reconciliation bill, which only requires 50 votes to pass. He even claimed the SAVE Act “can pass muster” with the liberal Senate Parliamentarian, whom Thune refuses to replace.
“There’s a way to craft a voter integrity bill, the so-called Save Act, that I believe can pass muster with the parliamentarian, but we don’t know unless we try,” Kennedy said.
“Now, Senator Thune, to his credit, is going to bring that to a vote on the floor. We’re going to have a chance to do what we call get on the bill. I’m obviously going to vote yes. I think all Democrats will vote no. I don’t know how many Republicans will vote no, but probably some will.”
Even Fox’s John Roberts was lost, saying, “All right. Well, in the meantime, we will all stay dazed and confused about what’s going on in the Senate.”
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However, Senator Rand Paul went on to reveal that “Neither budget we vote on today includes the SAVE Act.”
Instead, there are financial incentives for states to pass election laws that mirror the SAVE America Act, which Paul emphasized, “MIGHT urge some states to encourage voter ID.”
Neither budget we vote on today includes the SAVE Act – they cannot.
Both budgets can only include $ that MIGHT urge some states to encourage voter ID
(stronger language precluded by Senate reconciliation rules).
The conservative pathway is a budget that reduces debt and…
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 7, 2026
Paul went on to tout his sponsored spending package, saying it will save $400 billion and pass the SAVE America Act as well.
The Senate will have a choice: increase the deficit by $100 billion or support my budget, which saves $400 billion and includes the SAVE America Act. Let’s choose fiscal sanity and protect our elections.
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) August 7, 2026
The Senate is set to vote on a bill tonight, though it remains unclear whether it will include the SAVE Act.
This is a developing story.
