Future of SAVE America Act in Limbo as Senate GOP Turns to Housing

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, the Senate GOP says they “look forward” to getting straight to work implementing the aggressive legislative agenda the president laid out in the speech.

Foremost among the president’s priorities is the SAVE America Act, which would secure America’s elections by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and nation-wide voter ID. Previously, the president had endorsed the idea of using the talking filibuster to get the Save America Act through the Senate and signed into law.

But the Senate, under Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., seems to be shying away from using the talking filibuster.

“If we were to go down that path, it’s very hard to pivot and get back to open up the government,” Thune said of the talking filibuster Wednesday. Thune claims there are not enough Senate Republicans to ensure success, either: “There just isn’t the support for doing that at this point.”

Thune told reporters on Wednesday that “we need to be able to make sure that DHS, TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, all those agencies are funded. And so I’m hopeful that will be a breakthrough on that.”

But ending the shutdown is not the Senate’s sole focus, as Senate leadership is teeing-up a vote on a housing bill despite the continued shutdown.

“[Our focus] is going to be safer streets, more money in people’s pockets, and new opportunities for working families to get ahead,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told press Wednesday afternoon following a weekly GOP policy meeting.  

“One of the things that will be immediately on that agenda is a housing bill, which gets at the heart of the affordability issue, particularly for younger Americans,” continued Thune. 

The ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, introduced in August by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is sitting in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and has been placed on the upcoming legislative calendar.

“We’re going to try and get on that this week or at least set up a vote to get on it next week, and I think that will be, that would be a very substantial issue that we can deal with,” said Thune.

Meanwhile, the future of the SAVE America Act, however, remains in limbo despite Thune’s promise to have the Senate vote one it because, without using the talking filibuster, the election integrity measure has little chance of making it out of the upper chamber.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has been leading the SAVE America Act which will secure American elections by requiring voter ID.

“President Trump was clear at the State of the Union: the Senate should pass the SAVE America Act immediately, ‘before anything else happens,'” Lee told the Daily Signal.

“I will continue to work with my colleagues on the best way to deliver this legislation demanded by the American people,” he continued.

In the meantime, Thune hopes that Democrats will work with Republicans on “nonpartisan issues.”

“Technology and innovation is also something. Artificial intelligence, I think there’s a path forward, perhaps on some legislation to deal with that,” Thune said Wednesday.

“The issue of energy is a big factor in the cost of everything,” Thune added. “We’ve got some ideas proposal to deal with that.” 

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