U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) criticized his MAGA-aligned Senate colleague Mike Lee (R-UT) for trying to block the Senate’s August recess. Lee wants the lawmakers to remain in Washington to vote for President Trump’s SAVE America Act, a controversial voting measure that would require American citizens to show documents like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote and a photo ID to vote.
[NOTE: On Sunday, Lee wrote to Senate Majority Leader John Thune on social media: “@LeaderJohnThune, I hereby object to any effort to put the Senate into recess in August—at least until such time as the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act—and hereby request a roll call vote. Do not assume you have my consent. You do not.”]
Cramer, who launched his political career at age 30 and became the youngest chair of the North Dakota Republican Party in 1991, said: “I’ve never minded voting. So I’m happy to say this is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard and vote no.”
It can’t be said enough. This SAVE Act plan is either extremely stupid or actively pernicious. Mike Lee and fellow travelers should be ashamed and both Republican partisans and patriots will have a lot for which to blame them https://t.co/3aIT9pqLly
— Gregg Nunziata (@greggnunziata) July 29, 2026
Veteran of the conservative legal movement Greg Nunziata, former policy counsel to the Senate Republican Policy Committee, added: “It can’t be said enough. This SAVE Act plan is either extremely stupid or actively pernicious. Mike Lee and fellow travelers should be ashamed and both Republican partisans and patriots will have a lot for which to blame them.”
[NOTE: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said repeatedly that there aren’t enough votes to pass the SAVE Act and that the implementation of voter ID requirements described in the act would be impossible to pull off before Election Day in November.]
Nunziata added: “On policy grounds, I’m for voter ID and proof of citizenship. I’m against mail-in voting, early voting, absentee voting. I’m comfortable making it harder to vote. The SAVE Act fight is still bad policy, bad politics, bad procedure, and deeply cynical poison.”