U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound, said he and dozens of House Republicans are prepared to stall any new legislation in an effort to pressure the Senate to pass a voter ID bill that recently cleared the House.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification before casting a ballot, passed the House in February by a 218-213 vote.
The legislation is now stalled in the Senate amid unified Democratic opposition.
Gill, whose congressional district includes southern Denton County, said House Republicans are united behind the proposal and want the Senate to move quickly.
“House Republicans are united behind the SAVE Act,” Gill said. “I urge my Senate colleagues to pass this legislation and get it to President Trump’s desk for his signature.”
Speaking to Fox News, Gill said some House Republicans may refuse to advance other legislation from the Senate until the bill receives a vote.
“I would guess that right now there are probably 40 or 50 Republicans that are not going to vote for any piece of legislation from the Senate,” Gill said. “That’s a large chunk of the Republican Conference. I think it’s because we recognize that this is the political issue of the day right now.”
Gill added that Republicans view the issue as critical heading into the November elections.
“It’s going to be hard for us to go back to our voters in November and tell them, ‘Listen, you gave us control of the House, you gave us control of the Senate, and we couldn’t get a commonsense voter ID bill passed,’” Gill said.
President Donald Trump has also backed the measure and has threatened not to sign additional legislation until the Senate approves the SAVE Act.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, suggested last week that Senate Republicans consider changing the chamber’s filibuster rules to allow a voter ID bill to pass with a simple majority.
In an op-ed published in the New York Post, Cornyn said lawmakers should adopt “whatever changes … may prove necessary” to pass legislation aimed at securing U.S. elections, as well as a separate bill related to the Department of Homeland Security.
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said the votes are not currently there among Republicans to change Senate rules.
“It’s just a reality,” Thune told reporters Tuesday. “I’m the person who has to deliver, sometimes, the not-so-good news that the math doesn’t add up, but those are the facts, and there’s no getting around it.”
Public opinion polling suggests broad support for proof-of-citizenship requirements. An October 2024 Gallup poll found 83% of American voters support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
