Conservative House lawmakers have threatened to block every Senate bill if the upper chamber fails to pass the SAVE America Act.
A group of conservative Republicans issued an open letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) informing him of their plan to disrupt the passage of Senate bills in the lower chamber, according to Fox News.
A group of House conservatives are putting Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on notice: quickly pass a Trump-backed election bill or expect the House of Representatives to block every Senate measure.
Two dozen House Republicans, led by Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., are vowing to oppose any Senate bill until the House-passed Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act clears the upper chamber.
"We made a promise to the American people. It’s time to deliver," the Republicans wrote in an open letter to Thune, first obtained by Fox News Digital. "Consider this our filibuster."
It’s a notable division between Republicans controlling the majorities in both houses of Congress.
House Republicans have threatened for weeks to derail Senate legislation until President Donald Trump signs the measure into law. The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification for voters at the ballot box.
It comes as the Senate kicked off a marathon process Tuesday to debate the SAVE America Act, though the measure is ultimately expected to fail given unanimous opposition from Senate Democrats and Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
The group of House conservatives is calling on Senate leadership to pursue a talking filibuster to steer around the 60-vote requirement and pass the bill with a simple majority. However, internal divisions among Republicans have kept the conference from pursuing that approach. Thune has also warned a talking filibuster could backfire on Republicans if Democrats were to saddle the bill with Democrat-authored amendments.
Conservatives in the House are ratcheting up pressure on the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, threatening to block other legislation until the measure becomes law — a move that would add to the growing stalemate on Capitol Hill. https://t.co/P14246BuYo
— NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) March 17, 2026
House Republicans have called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to reject Senate-led bills until the SAVE America Act is passed. However, Johnson warned that if House Republicans are “going to go to war against our own party in the Senate, there may be implications to that.”
The SAVE America Act would require American citizens to show documentary proof of citizenship while registering to vote. This would include documentation such as passports or birth certificates and photo ID when voting in federal elections.
The House passed the bill back in February. The Senate voted to open debate on the measure on March 16. The bill faces major hurdles because it requires at least 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. Republicans hold 53 seats in the upper chamber and cannot reach that threshold without some Democrats crossing the aisle. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has joined Democrats in opposing the measure.
This has prompted President Donald Trump and his allies to call on Thune to nuke the filibuster so that the legislation requires only 50 votes to pass. He claims the bill would ensure Democrats cannot cheat in future elections.
Democrats have pushed back on the measure, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer referring to it as “Jim Crow 2.0,” insinuating that it would prevent black Americans from voting.
Editor's Note: The Democrats are doing everything in their power to undermine the integrity of our elections.
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