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Trump holds Washington hostage over SAVE Act as midterm clock ticks on GOP control
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President Donald Trump is turning the stalled SAVE America Act into a leverage fight on Capitol Hill, tying the bill to unrelated Republican priorities as the party races to use its congressional majorities before the midterms.
The fight now stretches across defense spending, housing legislation, Senate primary politics and the filibuster, as Trump pushes Republicans to move the stalled elections bill before the party’s midterm window narrows.
The latest pressure point came Tuesday, when Trump tied the stalled elections bill to a proposed «Reconciliation 3.0» package seeking $350 billion in new defense spending.
«The SAVE AMERICA ACT, which everyone is asking for, paired with the full funding of our Great Department of War, can be passed, very quickly, ensuring that the United States of America stays FREE for Generations to come,» Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 6, 2025. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The SAVE America Act includes Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification, which has faced obstacles in the Senate. Trump has warned about the need for voter ID laws for years, including from the 2016 campaign trail.
In late June, Trump announced a last-minute cancellation of the signing of the 21st Century ROAD Act of Housing, while issuing an ultimatum to get the SAVE Act passed.
The housing bill had bipartisan support and would have expanded the supply of homes and lower costs while also giving individual buyers a leg up by banning large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.
The cancellation came as a shock to members on both sides of the aisle, with Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins saying the decision «made no sense,» while Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Trump refused to sign at the «11th hour.»
«The SAVE America Act has always been a top priority for President Trump, and it remains one. This is commonsense legislation, supported by the vast majority of Americans, that will secure our elections for generations to come,» White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
«The president knows how critical this issue is for the American people, and he will not stop fighting until it is passed,» Jackson added.
Democratic lawmakers have argued the SAVE Act would create unnecessary barriers for eligible voters, disenfranchising them.
«In fact, he won’t sign our bipartisan bill to finally bring relief to the housing market until he gets his SAVE Act to rig the midterms and kick millions of American citizens off the voter rolls. America First,» said New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, referencing the housing act.
«Donald Trump thinks that passing a voter suppression law is the most important thing for our country,» posted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on X.
TRUMP SUFFERS MAJOR SUPREME COURT DEFEAT AS JUSTICES UPHOLD BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP
People complete their ballots. (REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)
The SAVE Act also became entangled in the Texas Senate fight between Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, where the filibuster and Trump’s endorsement became part of the same pressure campaign.
Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton previously sounded the alarm on the importance of getting the bill passed during his campaign in March.
«I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act,» he wrote on X at the time.
Cornyn declined to back the SAVE Act even as he signaled he could reconsider his longtime support for the filibuster, sharpening the Texas primary pressure before Trump ultimately endorsed Paxton.
Trump also diverted his attention back to the SAVE Act in another move to push his immigration agenda after a Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship.
After the Supreme Court ruled that children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment, Trump turned back to the SAVE Act as part of his broader immigration and elections push.
«The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process,» Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.
CONGRESS EYES RARE BIPARTISAN HOUSING WIN WITH OR WITHOUT TRUMP’S HELP
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Republican leadership following a policy luncheon in Washington, D.C., on October 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has cast doubt on the bill’s path forward, saying Republicans do not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster.
Trump has pushed Senate Republicans to change the rules and pass the bill by a simple majority, while pressing Democrats to publicly defend their reliance on the filibuster.
Trump has sounded the alarm that the SAVE Act may never pass if it doesn’t cross the finish line before November.
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Republicans and administration officials have joined Trump’s crusade by using their speaking engagements to help push the SAVE Act.
Vice President JD Vance said by passing the legislation to get voter ID, Republicans will stop talking about election fraud.
«We are the only advanced democracy anywhere in the entire world that doesn’t require you to show a voter ID to vote. It’s simple. Just give us election integrity laws, give us voter ID, and then we will have the confidence to say the American people, there’s no cheating,» said Vance. «So stop it and give the American people voter ID.»
The Senate is scheduled to return from its Independence Day recess the week of July 13.
politics, senate elections, donald trump, midterm elections, congress
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Donald Trump demanda a periodistas del New York Times por informar sobre supuestas fallas de su nuevo avión Air Force One
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Trump-aligned House holdouts accused of holding ‘life-saving’ veterans bill ‘hostage’ over SAVE America Act
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A sweeping veterans package supporters describe as the largest expansion of veterans’ health care and benefits in more than a decade is expected to return to the House floor when lawmakers come back from the July recess, but backers warn the legislation could once again become collateral damage in the Republican standoff over the SAVE America Act.
The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act rolls roughly 60 veterans bills into a package that would dramatically expand veterans’ health care and benefits. At its core, the legislation would cement veterans’ access to community care outside the VA while increasing benefits for combat-wounded veterans, caregivers and Gold Star families, expanding mental health services and enacting dozens of additional reforms.
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., told Fox News Digital he intends to bring the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act back for a vote as soon as the House reconvenes next week.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – MARCH 17: Eugene Simpson, 29, from Dale City, Virginia goes through physical therapy at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C. with Michael Minor, a kinesiotherapist with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on March 17, 2006 in Washington, D.C., USA. (Photo by Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images) (Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images)
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES DERAIL GOP AGENDA IN SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWDOWN
The legislation was held up last month after a group of House Republicans joined Democrats to defeat a procedural vote, stopping the House from taking up the bill.
«I’m feeling good as long as my members stay with us on the rule,» Bost said. «Right now, there’s some politics being played, not about this bill, but just in general.»
The bill became entangled in a broader House Republican fight over the SAVE America Act, legislation championed by President Donald Trump that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
On June 30, the House voted on H. Res. 1398, the procedural rule governing floor consideration of several bills, including the National Defense Authorization Act and the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. The rule failed after 14 Republicans joined Democrats in opposition, preventing the House from taking up the veterans package and bringing floor business to a standstill. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., claimed to have voted against the rules vote in protest against House leadership’s handling of the SAVE America Act. As a result, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson sent the members home early.
Bost accused the holdouts of effectively putting veterans legislation on hold.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs building is seen in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2019. (Photo by Alastair Pike / AFP) (Photo credit should read ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo credit should read ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Image)
‘IT’S A MESS’: GOP TURNS ON HOUSE CONSERVATIVES AS VOTER ID BLOCKADE STALLS TRUMP’S AGENDA
«They’re holding all bills hostage,» Bost said. «They’re not voting for any rule. Any bill that has to pass a rule before it comes to the floor—which this bill does because of its size—can’t move.»
Although Bost said he supports the SAVE America Act and has voted for it three times, he argued the Senate’s failure to act should not stop the House from advancing unrelated legislation.
«I agree with that bill,» Bost said. «But the Senate still has to do their work. We don’t stop our work because the Senate isn’t doing it.»
With 23 legislative days left in the Congressional session, Concerned Veterans for America Strategic Director John Byrnes, a supporter of the bill, said time is of the essence.
«There are lots and lots of things that have to get done,» Byrnes told Fox News Digital. «There’s also the National Defense Authorization Act, which is a must pass every year, so these things eat up time. There’s requirements to have debate on these, which eat up session time.»
Byrnes argued that every procedural delay pushes other legislation further down the calendar.
«This bill will save lives in 2027,» Byrnes said. «If we lose veterans because they could have had faster, better access to health care, we’re never going to get those veterans back.»
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill. ( )
TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT
But Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also voted no on the procedural vote, told Fox News Digital that he has concerns about how the bill is financed.
«I appreciate what the chairman’s trying to do in some respects, but there’s a few issues,» Roy said.
Among them, Roy pointed to provisions offsetting new spending through changes affecting other veterans.
«You’re taxing certain veterans to provide some sort of benefits and changes to other veterans,» Roy said. «There are concerns about some of the pay-fors.»
Veterans of Foreign Wars has also taken issue with Section 108 of the bill, warning that it would codify changes to future disability ratings for tinnitus and sleep apnea to help finance other veterans priorities.
But Bost said this is inaccurate.
«No veteran is going to have their benefits reduced,» Bost said. «If you’re receiving a benefit right now, that’s not going to be reduced at all.»
Roy, who previously served two years on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said he supported a lot of what the bill was seeking to accomplish; but said other pieces of legislation are priorities, too.
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«There is a block of us for whom border security, the SAVE Act and demonstrating our leadership on major issues is critical,» Roy said. «Some of these other bills may or may not get hung up based on a desire of many in the conference to see movement on other things.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Luna’s office and the White House for comment.
veterans, legislation, congress, defense, domestic policies
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La Policía Nacional Civil de El Salvador capturó a dos personas vinculadas al narcomenudeo
El ministro de Seguridad Pública y Justicia de El Salvador, Gustavo Villatoro, anunció la captura de dos personas vinculadas al narcomenudeo y la incautación de marihuana valorada en casi 20 mil dólares. El operativo, realizado el 9 de julio de 2026, fue ejecutado por la Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) en el marco de las acciones del Plan Control Territorial.
Según los datos difundidos por Villatoro a través de sus redes sociales, los detenidos fueron identificados como José Fernando Barillas Chinchilla y Katherine Yohana Ramos. Ambos fueron interceptados mientras se desplazaban en un vehículo que transportaba nueve porciones de marihuana, en presentaciones grandes y medianas, cuyo valor fue estimado en 19,768 dólares.
Tras la detención y la divulgación de sus fotografías, las autoridades recibieron denuncias ciudadanas que alertaban sobre la presencia de más drogas en la vivienda donde los sospechosos se hospedaban. En respuesta, la PNC, con el apoyo de la unidad K9, llevó a cabo un operativo que permitió incautar 28 paquetes adicionales de marihuana, varios teléfonos celulares y 805 dólares en efectivo.
El ministro Villatoro destacó que estos resultados se logran gracias a la colaboración ciudadana y la confianza depositada en las instituciones de seguridad. “No vamos a permitir este veneno en nuestro querido y nuevo gran país. Estamos combatiendo este flagelo de manera frontal y con toda firmeza, sin importar si se trata de grandes o pequeñas cantidades”, subrayó el funcionario.
En los últimos años, El Salvador ha intensificado su combate al narcotráfico y el narcomenudeo como parte de una estrategia integral de seguridad. El Plan Control Territorial, implementado desde 2019, ha priorizado la presencia policial en las zonas más vulnerables y el fortalecimiento de unidades especializadas en la detección y persecución de delitos relacionados con las drogas.
De acuerdo con cifras oficiales, durante 2026 la PNC ha incrementado los operativos focalizados contra el narcomenudeo en distintas regiones del país. Entre enero y julio de este año, las autoridades reportan la incautación de más de 2.5 toneladas de marihuana, además de cocaína y otras sustancias ilícitas. Las acciones han derivado en la captura de más de 1,200 personas vinculadas al tráfico y distribución de drogas en pequeñas y medianas cantidades.
El narcomenudeo representa uno de los principales desafíos para la seguridad interna, ya que constituye el eslabón más visible en la cadena del narcotráfico y tiene un impacto directo en la vida cotidiana de las comunidades. Las autoridades salvadoreñas han señalado que muchas estructuras de narcomenudeo operan de forma fragmentada, ocultándose en áreas urbanas y rurales, lo que exige una labor investigativa permanente y el uso de tecnología especializada, como la participación de equipos K9 para la detección de drogas.
Los recientes decomisos evidencian la continuidad de una política de cero tolerancia frente al tráfico de drogas, así como la articulación entre las fuerzas de seguridad y la ciudadanía. El ministro Villatoro reiteró el compromiso del gobierno de no permitir que el narcotráfico se arraigue en el territorio nacional, al tiempo que hizo un llamado a la población para seguir denunciando cualquier actividad sospechosa.
Organismos internacionales han señalado que la presión ejercida sobre el narcomenudeo en El Salvador ha provocado una disminución en la circulación de drogas en zonas urbanas y la desarticulación de varias bandas dedicadas a la comercialización de este tipo de ilícitos. No obstante, el país continúa enfrentando retos, como el surgimiento de nuevas rutas de tráfico y la adaptación constante de los grupos criminales.
Las autoridades mantienen la vigilancia en puntos estratégicos y refuerzan el mensaje de que no se tolerará el tráfico de drogas por ninguna vía —ni por mar, ni por aire, ni por tierra— en el territorio salvadoreño.
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