President Trump said on Sunday that he will not sign any other bills into law until the SAVE America Act — legislation to require stricter voter ID and a ban on vote-by-mail — is passed by Congress. Trump wrote on social media: “And not the watered down version…must show voter I.D. and proof of citizenship: no mail-in ballots except for military – illness, disability, travel.”
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) responded: “The SAVE Act is Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people. If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate. Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances.”
The SAVE Act is Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people.
If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate.
Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any… https://t.co/AyANQFGMxD
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 8, 2026
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), who is vying for the President’s endorsement while running against MAGA-aligned Texas AG Ken Paxton in a heated Lone Star State GOP primary runoff, responded to Schumer: “This is one of your dumbest tweets yet! The only people who wouldn’t be able to vote due to the SAVE America Act are non-citizens. You’re once again threatening to hold the Senate hostage to benefit illegal aliens – just like you did in the last shutdown. No wonder Americans (and your delegation) want you gone.”
Political scientist Norman Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute, replied to Cornyn: “John, this bill is a poll tax. It would require millions of citizens to pay at least $130 for a passport–probably more– or pay for an embossed birth certificate, $40 or more. Every voter would have to RE-REGISTER in person at a limited number of sites (no more libraries).”
John, this bill is a poll tax. It would require millions of citizens to pay at least $130 for a passport–probably more– or pay for an embossed birth certificate, $40 or more. Every voter would have to RE-REGISTER in person at a limited number of sites (no more libraries) 1 https://t.co/O30DVKTN77
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) March 9, 2026
Ornstein (a registered Democrat who says he’s voted for candidates in both parties) added: “Real IDs not good for 45 states. Married women w their husbands’ names would have to jump through many additional hoops, at more cost. And every state required to give its sensitive voter info to DHS, and to use its deeply flawed voter purge program, falsely disenfranchising many.”