NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Senate Republicans are gearing up for a floor battle over Trump-backed voter ID legislation, but another GOP senator plans to oppose it.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., won’t support the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a decision that could throw a wrench into the GOP’s plan to force Senate Democrats into tough vote after tough vote next week.
“I’m a no,” Tillis said. “I’m going to do everything I can to prevent it from even moving forward.”
SENATE GOP EYES BLAME GAME AS TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT HEADS FOR DEFEAT
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., vowed “to do everything I can” to stop the SAVE America Act, which the Senate is expected to vote on next week. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He did offer an alternative, arguing that if Republicans were “serious” about voter ID, they’d consider legislation that incentivized states to use the practice in exchange for federal funding. If not, the money would go toward ensuring “election integrity” oversight.
“Who could be against that? You know, and then rock on, California, if you want to enable ballot harvesting,” Tillis said. “Make sure you do it on your nickels, because we’re going to spend the money to oversee the elections to make sure you did it legally.”
His resistance to the bill comes after President Donald Trump demanded that Republicans ram the bill through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ blockade with a talking filibuster.
TRUMP, THUNE CLASH ON VOTER ID ULTIMATUM AS GOP REMAINS DIVIDED ON PATH FORWARD
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump host a Women’s History Month Celebration at the White House on March 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republicans landed on a plan to put the bill on the floor that doesn’t take the route of a talking filibuster, given that there isn’t enough unity among Republicans to block Democrats’ amendments that could drastically change the bill.
However, that process is in the spirit of the talking filibuster and will allow Republicans to load up amendments on the floor for a marathon debate session. Still, it won’t lower the threshold to pass the bill with just a simple majority — something the talking filibuster would have done.
Republicans know it’s destined to fail and are trying to shift blame to Schumer and Democrats with their floor strategy.
THUNE GUARANTEES VOTER ID BILL TO HIT THE SENATE DESPITE SCHUMER, DEM OPPOSITION: ‘WE WILL HAVE A VOTE’
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., departs following a vote at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 7, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Tillis, who was a co-sponsor of the bill’s predecessor called the SAVE Act, disagreed with the changes Trump proposed to the legislation, which included banning mail-in ballots with limited exceptions, halting men in women’s sports, and stopping transgender surgeries for minors.
“You know, taking the language from the White House without understanding the state-by-state implications, politically and procedurally, just doesn’t sound like we’re letting the people at the tip of the spear — that’s these people running for re-election — define what we should be voting on next week,” Tillis said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Tillis joins Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in opposing the bill. Their defection, coupled with Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., announcing on CBS’ “The Takeout with Major Garrett” that he wouldn’t support the legislation in its “current state” over Trump’s criticism of mail-in balloting, gives the GOP a razor-thin margin of error in trying to even open debate on the bill.
