The House GOP is forging ahead with a SAVE Act plan. Is it doomed?

Vice President JD Vance has embraced the House GOP's plan to pass the SAVE America Act. One Republican, however, is calling the effort a "waste of time."Show Caption

WASHINGTON – Vice President JD Vance emerged from a meeting on Capitol Hill this week with a clear message: Republicans have a plan for the SAVE America Act.Whether that plan is realistic is a different story.Flanked by Mike Johnson, the vice president insisted that the White House was supportive of the House speaker's strategy to approve the voting restrictions bill, President Donald Trump's top priority. Hours earlier, the GOP-led budget committee released the outline of a roughly $100 billion measure, up to $10 billion of which would be set aside for election-related purposes. The bulk of the money would go to the Pentagon to offset Iran war losses, plus another $12 billion in farm assistance."What we're doing with this legislation is getting SAVE America through and, of course, getting some critical support to our troops and to our farmers," Vance told reporters after the huddle with House Republicans. "We thought that this was the best vehicle to accomplish those three things."Yet many other Republicans, even the ones most desperately clamoring for an election law overhaul, disagree.The intraparty disputes – combined with the nature of Johnson's long-shot legislative gambit and a vanishing timeline – are openly dividing the GOP ahead of the midterm elections. And the dysfunction is already jeopardizing other pressing legislative business in the eleventh hour of the 119th Congress, including bipartisan priorities and crucial government funding bills relied on by many Americans.'Not enough' for House criticsOn one end of the spectrum, some House Republicans say GOP leaders aren't going far enough. Because Johnson is trying to pass SAVE as part of a budget bill, it’s a very different version, the specifics of which haven’t even been ironed out yet. While budget bills only need a simple majority in the Senate, and therefore can pass along party lines, they’re subject to special rules, namely that they must primarily affect fiscal issues. If legislation violates those rules, the Senate has to throw it out.Johnson and his leadership counterparts have indicated there are creative ways to get around that obstacle. Money could potentially be put toward grants that incentivize states to enact SAVE’s components, which include requiring voter ID and documentary proof of citizenship to cast a ballot, as well limits on mail-in voting. So far, the White House says it’s happy with pursuing the watered-down measure. But it hasn’t been enough to satisfy SAVE’s other Capitol Hill proponents such as Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Missouri."It's not enough if it's weak language," he said. "It’s nothing for states if we’re just going to throw a few million bucks their way."Johnson has signaled he wants the House to fully pass the budget bill before the chamber is supposed to leave Thursday, July 23, for August recess. The brevity of that timeline will make that effort a challenge.A 'waste of time,' Tillis saysOver in the Senate, there’s notable opposition, too. Many Republican senators have expressed skepticism that Johnson’s version of SAVE would survive the chamber’s budgetary rules. And even then, it may struggle to get enough votes.Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, said he’d refuse to vote for the larger budget bill if it includes elements of SAVE. "I'll slow other things down, too," he warned. "It's a waste of time, and it’s an exercise in futility."Even one senator, especially one in the majority, threatening to clog up legislative business in the Senate can be a big problem.And time is of the essence: Like the House, the upper chamber will also be out for much of August and October. September, in the meantime, could be dominated by government funding fights and confirming several high-level Trump Cabinet nominees, including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and spy chief hopeful Jay Clayton. All the while, many senators will be in campaign mode as November approaches.Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Oklahoma, a member of the House Budget Committee who voted to advance the latest SAVE plan, said he hopes the Senate doesn't "squander this opportunity.""This package is designed with the U.S. Senate in mind," he wrote in a July 16 social media post. "The Senate must follow the House’s momentum and pass the SAVE America Act immediately and in full."Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.