Vance Says Trump Team Examined Senate Maneuver to Pass SAVE Act
Vice President JD Vance says President Donald Trump’s team has thoroughly examined a dramatic procedural route to passing the SAVE America Act—but concluded that Republican votes are not there to make it work.
In an interview with Vince Coglianese released Tuesday, Vance said he and Trump had “wargamed” options for advancing the legislation, including a scenario in which Vance would take the Senate chair and remove the parliamentarian.
Vance argued he has the authority to make such a move. But he said the decisive obstacle would be Republican senators joining Democrats to reject the new chair’s ruling.
“Four, five, maybe ten” Republicans could vote with Democrats, Vance predicted. That would leave the effort short of the support needed to move the bill forward.
“There is no shortcut,” Vance said, rejecting the idea that removing the parliamentarian alone could resolve the impasse. He described the parliamentarian as a bureaucrat, but directed his criticism at Republicans he believes would block the effort.
The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship and valid identification to register for federal elections. It would also restrict mail-in voting, with exceptions for illness, disability, military service and travel. Supporters say the requirements would help ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections.
Vance said that if all 50 Republican senators stood with him, they could remove the parliamentarian, eliminate the filibuster and pass the bill, along with other measures. But he said the team had already examined the scenario in detail and concluded it would fail.
“We have wargamed this to every detail,” Vance said, adding that he had wanted to pursue the approach months ago. The plan was set aside, he said, because several Republicans were expected to side with Democrats.
Vance named Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski as four Republicans he believes would vote against the maneuver. The account provided did not include responses from the senators. Vance also criticized what he called “mediocre Republican senators.”
The remarks bring the debate into the open: Vance’s account points to the Senate vote count as the central barrier, rather than the parliamentarian alone. A move to remove the official and eliminate the filibuster would reshape Senate procedure, and Vance says attempting it without sufficient support would not pass the bill.
Vance has previously called election integrity “not a partisan issue” and urged passage of the act.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin described a similar stalemate last month, blaming Democrats for opposing the legislation and saying Republicans lacked the votes to overcome the filibuster. Johnson said Republicans supported election integrity and voter identification, while Democrats would not vote for the bill.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has also criticized the Senate’s repeated recesses as a “lost opportunity.” He said senators had promised to take up the measure when time allowed, despite knowing debate could last weeks. The bill was deferred as senators addressed Department of Homeland Security funding and other priorities, Breitbart News reported.