Newt Gingrich: The Constitution works
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich discusses Donald Trump’s commitment to the ‘Save America Act,’ which includes mandatory voter ID. He advises Trump to rally public support across the nation to overcome legislative hurdles. Gingrich highlights widespread public support for secure elections and suggests this approach could expose the Democratic Party’s resistance to voter integrity, particularly given the recent rise of radical socialist candidates.
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Conservatives online rallied around President Donald Trump redoubled calls on Thursday night for lawmakers to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, citing alarming election integrity vulnerabilities he said his administration had discovered.
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., wrote on social media.
“We are going to lose our country if we don’t pass the dadgum SAVE America Act. Call your senator and tell them to save our great nation.”
SENATE FACES ‘COME-TO-JESUS’ MOMENT ON TRUMP’S ELECTION PRIORITY UNDER GOP’S NEW PLAN
US President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on July 16, 2026. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS ( )
Trump promised a series of disclosures on the discovered weaknesses.
“Tonight, I’m announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure,” Trump said.
In particular, the president said those new documents would focus on a handful of key concerns: foreign data theft carried out by China, that members of the U.S. government had known about election vulnerabilities, that Americans had been misled for years about those weaknesses and new evidence of “election fraud.”
To address them, Trump called on lawmakers to pass the SAVE Act — a bill that, among other provisions, would require proof of citizenship to participate in federal elections.
“I ask you to pick up your phone tomorrow, call your representatives in the House and Senate, and demand that they pass the Save America Act without delay. Together, we will restore faith and confidence in our country, and we will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
Almost immediately, his calls were echoed by Republican lawmakers online.
“It is more important than ever to crush foreign election interference. It is more important than ever to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a post to X.
MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is leading the push in the Senate to pass voter ID legislation, and pitching multiple paths that Republicans could take to do it. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Hans Von Spakovsky, an election expert with Advancing American Freedom, a conservative think tank, agreed.
“The president is absolutely correct that the SAVE Act needs to be passed to implement universal voter ID and proof of citizenship,” Spakovsky said.
“He is also correct that the only reason an elected official would oppose this is because that official wants to make it easy to cheat and ensure that aliens who register and vote are not caught,” Spakovsky added.
The legislation, which has passed the House of Representatives multiple times, has been stopped by Democratic opposition in the Senate, where Republicans need at least 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
Republicans hold just 53 seats in the chamber.
Despite Trump’s calls to remove the filibuster, a part of Senate procedure, enough Republicans have expressed support to keep it in place, arguing that it forces a at least some level of bipartisan cooperation over the most substantive pieces of legislation. But on Thursday, more voices demanded the Senate revisit the rule.
“The Senate needs to end the zombie filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act. Election integrity is far more important than the dying institutional ‘norms’ of the Senate,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on Xshortly after Trump’s speech.
Democrats, who believe the bill would add too many hurdles for certain demographics to participate in elections, bashed Trump’s calls on Thursday, including former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The SAVE Act is voter suppression. It is part of a larger agenda of conservatives trying to steal power from the people,” Harris said in a post to social media.
“He wants you to lose confidence in our electoral system, so you stay home this November. He knows how discontent the American people are, and he wants to make sure that you do not vote,” she added.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., echoed Harris’ calls.
WATCH: ELISSA SLOTKIN SAYS SAVE AMERICA ACT WOULD MAKE IT ‘HARD FOR ANY DEMOCRAT’ TO WIN AN ELECTION
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the American Federation of Teachers’ 88th National Convention on July 25, 2024, in Houston, Texas. (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
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“Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. And now he’s trying to rig this year’s election with the SAVE America Act to make it harder to vote for millions of women, veterans, rural folks, & voters of color,” Pressley said in a post of her own.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also joined in the chorus of Democratic condemnations.
“After listening to the president’s rambling address, I want him to know that the SAVE America Act is going NOWHERE in the Senate. It belongs in the trash with the rest of Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories. America, use your vote and your voice to save our democracy,” Murray said in a post to X.
It’s unclear when the Senate might reconsider the SAVE Act.
