President Trump on Tuesday threw his support behind House GOP leadership’s plan to pass key election integrity provisions through budget reconciliation, a maneuver that would let Republicans bypass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold to advance proof of citizenship and photo ID requirements for federal elections.
Trump posted on social media that the SAVE America Act, paired with $350 billion in defense funding, “can be passed very quickly,” calling it essential to keeping the United States “FREE for Generations to come.”
The move marks a notable shift. As recently as last month, Trump had waved off reconciliation as an option for the SAVE America Act, telling reporters, “No, not really.” His Tuesday endorsement of the strategy aligns him with House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican who has been pitching the reconciliation approach for weeks.
Under the plan, dubbed “reconciliation 3.0” by House Republicans, Congress would pass a third budget reconciliation bill this Congress. Johnson has proposed structuring the election integrity provisions as a grant program, offering states financial incentives to adopt proof of citizenship registration requirements and photo ID mandates at the polls.
“If we can get proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote, that eliminates so much of the problem, all the fraud and everything that everybody’s concerned about in our elections,” Johnson said Sunday on “Fox News Sunday.”
Some conservatives have raised concerns that the grant program structure would let Democratic-run states simply decline to participate, blunting the bill’s effect. Trump’s social media post did not address that objection or specify which provisions must be included.
The House-passed version of the SAVE America Act stalled in the Senate after hitting a Democratic filibuster and resistance from a handful of Republican senators. That version did not include a ban on universal mail-in ballots, which Trump has sought. Johnson indicated on Sunday that Trump understands that provision is “a bigger reach” and would be willing to forgo it in exchange for the citizenship and ID requirements.
The defense funding component of the reconciliation package would deliver $350 billion in mandatory defense appropriations. Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget request had already asked Congress for a total of $1.5 trillion in defense spending, combining annual discretionary funding with mandatory appropriations through reconciliation.
Trump urged Congress to kick off the reconciliation 3.0 process “soon as Congress is back in session” next week.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, a Texas Republican, told reporters before the extended July 4 recess that the GOP conference was “at least 80% there” on adopting a budget resolution. He said the remaining friction centers on how to pay for the package.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota has expressed skepticism about passing a third reconciliation bill this close to November elections, citing the need for ironclad Republican unity. Johnson pushed back on that caution Sunday, saying Senate doubts were based on assumptions about what the House might include in the bill.
“We will continue to increase affordability, we’ll reduce fraud, waste and abuse in government, and we’ll secure elections,” Johnson said. “Every Republican would vote for that if properly presented.”
