Speaker Mike Johnson's latest bid to skirt Democrats’ opposition to an election integrity bill backed by President Donald Trump survived a key hurdle on Monday evening.The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has faced significant headwinds in Congress despite having Trump’s full-throated support.While it passed the House, the legislation has struggled in the Senate where at least several Democratic votes are needed to break a filibuster and advance to final passage.But the new plan by Johnson, R-La., which would allow key parts of the bill to skirt Democrats entirely, is one step closer to getting a House-wide vote sometime this week.TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWNSpeaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., attend the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum's National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance ceremony in Emancipation Hall on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.
via Getty Images)Republicans would erase the need for any Democratic buy-in by putting key elements of the SAVE America Act into a larger budget reconciliation bill.The reconciliation process allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy reforms without input from their opposition by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s simple majority requirement.But there are strict guidelines for what can be in a reconciliation bill.
Such legislation must deal with yearly federal spending and revenues, meaning issues that do not directly affect fiscal policy are generally excluded.House Republicans are aiming to use this reconciliation bill to fund states’ election integrity efforts, replenish military funding amid the U.S.war with Iran, and dole out aid to American farmers.GOP'S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLTIn total, the legislation would set the stage for $95 billion i...