The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act failed to advance in the Senate on Tuesday, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying publicly that the odds of passage before the August recess were “basically zero.”
DeSantis wrote on X that he doubted Congress could pass the measure before the scheduled break. “Happy to be wrong about this but I don’t think I am,” he added.
The bill, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, has now stalled at least five times in the Senate as Democrats continue to block it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the legislation “will not pass, not now, not ever,” calling it “Jim Crow 2.0.”
President Trump has pressured Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota to keep lawmakers in Washington through August until the bill passes. Thune has so far held firm on the recess schedule, despite a bloc of Republican senators pushing to cancel the break.
DeSantis, who signed a state version of the SAVE Act in Florida earlier this year, said he supported passage of the federal bill. “Why would I not want to see the work put into this issue bear fruit?” he wrote on X. “It doesn’t preclude the Senate from passing the federal SAVE Act, which they should do.”
The governor’s admission that passage was unlikely before the break added to growing Republican frustration with the Senate’s pace on Trump’s legislative agenda.
New Jersey’s voter roll problems added fuel to the debate this week. Gov. Mikie Sherrill confirmed Tuesday that 4,500 ineligible noncitizens had been registered to vote through a software glitch at the state’s motor vehicle offices. About 400 of those individuals have already cast ballots, she said. Trump had singled out New Jersey in recent weeks as evidence that noncitizens were making it onto state voter rolls.
Republicans pointed to the New Jersey case as direct evidence that the SAVE Act is needed. Democrats accused the GOP of trying to “weaponize” the state’s technical failure.
The SAVE Act has passed the House but cannot clear the 60-vote threshold needed to advance in the Senate. No Senate Democrats have signaled support for the measure.
