After months of fighting over the SAVE America Act, Republican lawmakers have decided to try a new strategy — attaching it to a reconciliation bill. But even this plan might hit a roadblock named Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
While speaking on the Senate floor on Friday, Tillis vowed to tank the measure. “I’m against it because people are selling you a bill of goods,” he said, also pointing out that the measure “can’t be implemented on day one” and that “South Dakota actually starts voting 46 days before the election.”
“Now, under the Constitution, each state controls how it handles elections, but Congress can play a role,” Tillis continued. “There is a push to add the SAVE America Act to a stock trading bill in the House next week.”
🚨 UPDATE: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is being RIPPED for openly declaring on the Senate floor he's going to KlLL the SAVE America Act
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 17, 2026
A FREAKING TRAITOR!
TILLIS, raging: "I'm against it because people are selling you a bill of goods!"
After President Trump's election integrity… pic.twitter.com/o73P3lC1Zb
Back in March, Tillis released a statement voicing support for some of the bill’s provisions such as requiring voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship and a photo ID to register to vote in federal elections. He also supports restricting mail-in ballots. But he indicated he opposes efforts to force the bill through by altering Senate rules such by nuking the filibuster or other methods.
“While I support strengthening mail-in ballot integrity, many states like Utah, Florida, Alaska, and Montana rely on the use of mail-in ballots to conduct their elections, and we should not be completely upending how states already securely conduct their elections,” he said.
Sen. Thom Tillis says the SAVE America Act will not be in place for this election, saying Republicans “simply don’t have the votes” to pass it in time. pic.twitter.com/wkH4MvlL9L
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 25, 2026
He called the idea of eliminating the filibuster “a foolish and lazy idea pushed by politicians seeking short-term gain at the expense of causing irreparable long-term harm to our nation.”
I am one of the few members of Congress who has actually passed a voter ID law (on a bipartisan basis), which I did as Speaker of the House in North Carolina, and that’s why I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act. While I support strengthening mail-in ballot integrity, many states…
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) March 19, 2026
With Tillis opposing the measure, it isn’t likely Republicans will be able to pass the SAVE America Act even with attaching it to a reconciliation bill. Other efforts to use this strategy have already failed — most recently in June when Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Tillis voted against it.
If Tillis is the only Republican senator to oppose the measure, then it could succeed with Vice President JD Vance casting the deciding vote.