With both parties digging in on their positions and no clear resolution in sight, the stage is set for a long week in Washington.
After President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a government funding measure to end a partial government shutdown, funding clashes still lie ahead—this time, centered entirely around the contents of a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Republicans are escalating their calls to include the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act—a bill intended to require voter ID and reduce voter fraud in federal elections—in the final funding package for DHS.
Trump has expressed support for the measure, calling for voter ID laws to be included in the package.
The president has also called for the federal government to “nationalize” or “take over” elections if states cannot run them “legally and honestly.”
Later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that those comments were an endorsement of passing the SAVE Act.
Senate Democrats—who have demanded sweeping reforms to DHS and its subsidiary Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a condition for their support of the funding legislation—have described this as a non-starter in the upper chamber.
The funding bill signed by Trump finalizes full-year funding for 96 percent of the government, leaving all executive departments except DHS funded until Sept. 30. The funding for DHS, meanwhile, is set to run out on Feb. 13.
The DHS bill was separated from a larger tranche of spending bills after Democrats refused to support it in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.
Any bill will need 60 votes to clear the Senate—though some House Republicans are calling for weakening or changing the rules around the Senate mechanism to more easily pass the bill.
With both sides digging in on their positions and no clear resolution in sight, the stage is set for a long week in Washington. Here’s what to know.
What Is the SAVE Act?
The SAVE Act was introduced and championed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), its original sponsor, and other congressional Republicans several times in recent years.
Most recently, the legislation was reintroduced by Roy and passed the House in April 2025. However, it has stalled in a Senate committee.
The bill’s purpose, according to its introduction, is “to require proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for Federal office.”
The bill lists several acceptable documents to verify the citizenship of a would-be voter, including a REAL ID compliant identification, a U.S. passport, a military ID card, or any valid state, federal, or tribal identification, such as a birth certificate, hospital record, or adoption certificate, showing that the individual was born in, or is a naturalized citizen of, the United States.
Roy and other proponents of the legislation say that it’s necessary to respond to a 2013 decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, which found that federal law limiting ID requirements supersedes existing state laws requiring documentary proof to vote—effectively banning states from imposing such requirements for federal voter registration.
By Joseph Lord and Nathan Worcester
