Senate Republicans Block Save Act Again With Four GOP Defections

Senate republicans block save act again after four Republicans joined all Democrats to stop a second attempt to attach President Donald Trump's measure to a GOP funding package on Thursday night. The Lindsey Graham amendment fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the broader effort through the Senate.

Lindsey Graham Amendment

Graham, a South Carolina Republican, tried to add the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act to the chamber's nearly $70 billion budget reconciliation package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. The vote was the second time Republicans tried to tie the election measure to that funding bill, and the threshold again proved too high.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina broke with their party and joined Democrats to defeat the amendment. Their votes left Graham without the support needed to move the measure forward on the Senate floor.

Alex Padilla Response

Sen. Alex Padilla said just over a month ago that a similar proposal was defeated on a bipartisan basis. Graham argued for the amendment during the debate, saying, "There's no other reason to say you don't have to have an ID. It just makes cheating easier," and, "Who wants a noncitizen voting in our election if you're against that, that makes me wonder."

Thursday Night Vote

Graham also said, "And biological males playing girls sports [is] not good for anybody, and a minor should not be allowed to transition their sex," as he pressed the case for the measure. The defeat leaves the SAVE America Act without enough Senate support to advance through reconciliation, even after Republicans again tried to use the immigration funding package as the vehicle for it.