Four Republican senators sided with Democrats on Thursday night to kill the SAVE Act — the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act — a voter ID bill backed by President Trump himself, and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is publicly dragging every last one of them. The bill, which would have required proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, went down during a marathon voting session on a $70 billion budget reconciliation package.
With friends like these, who needs Chuck Schumer?
The four Republican defectors — Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina — crossed the aisle to torpedo the amendment. These are the same senators who will spend the next fundraising cycle telling you they care deeply about election integrity. They just don't care enough to, you know, vote for it.
Hawley, to his credit, went scorched earth. "Listen, we've been doing this in Missouri for years. I mean voters in my state put it in our constitution," he said. He pointed out the obvious: "Voter ID is the most popular thing out there." He's right. Thirty-seven states already have some form of voter ID requirement. This isn't radical. This is Tuesday in most of America.
But apparently it's too spicy for McConnell and company.
"People want their elections to be safe, they want them to be fair. And to me, you can't explain it to me why you wouldn't vote for voter ID," Hawley continued. Neither can we, Senator. Neither can we. The man was practically begging someone — anyone — to give him a coherent reason for the no votes. Spoiler: nobody did.
The usual excuses will trickle out. "States' rights." "Federalism concerns." "The timing wasn't right." You know what's funny? These same senators had zero federalism concerns when they voted for the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022. We make federal rules for elections all the time — Hawley said as much himself: "We make federal rules all the time for elections." The Voting Rights Acts exist. Federal election law exists. But suddenly requiring an ID to vote — something you need to buy Sudafed — is a bridge too far.
Let's be honest about what happened here. Senate Majority Whip John Thune let this vote come to the floor knowing it would fail. The RINOs got to cast their "no" votes, the Democrats got their win, and Trump got undercut by his own party. Again. It's a pattern so predictable you could set your watch by it.
McConnell voting against a Trump priority is about as surprising as rain in Seattle. Collins and Murkowski might as well have "D" next to their names at this point. And Tillis? The man represents North Carolina — a state that already has voter ID — and he still couldn't bring himself to vote yes on a federal version. Explain that one to your constituents, Thom.
Hawley summed it up best: "Sooner or later this is going to happen because I think the American people are going to demand it." He's not wrong. Polling consistently shows massive bipartisan support for voter ID. The only people opposed are Democratic operatives and, apparently, four Republican senators who forgot which team they play for.
As reported by Lifezette, this vote is already blowing up online, with Hawley's video circulating and Republican voters asking a very simple question: why do we keep electing people who campaign on our values and then vote with the other side?
We don't need enemies when our own caucus keeps volunteering for the job.
