Exclusive: SAVE Act hangs in the balance as Republican Study Committee pushes for Senate passage



While the Senate continues stalling the commonsense SAVE Act, the Republican Study Committee members are pressuring their colleagues to send the bill to President Donald Trump's desk.

The House passed the SAVE Act for the second time in April, but the Senate has yet to schedule a vote to pass the bill. Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas originally spearheaded the legislation, which would simply require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.

'American elections should be fair and free, not subject to foreign influence.'

Since then, dozens of RSC members have been pressuring the Senate to hold a vote, telling Blaze News that "the Senate must do their job."

"Voting in American elections is a right reserved for American citizens, and the House did our job by passing the SAVE Act months ago to secure it," RSC Chairman August Pfluger (Texas) told Blaze News. "We're already a full year into the 119th Congress, and the American people are still waiting for the Senate to deliver what we promised them in 2024. They sent us here to get things done, not to make excuses."

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"This is a commonsense reform with broad public support from Americans who want elections that are free, fair, and secure," Roy told Blaze News. "Now it's time for the Senate to act. All it takes is 51 Republicans willing to demand a vote. And if Democrats choose to filibuster, they can explain to the American people why they believe noncitizens should be allowed to vote. That is a debate we will win every time."

Roy and Pfluger secured the backing of dozens of colleagues, including RSC Vice Chair Ben Cline of Virginia and Republican Reps. Mark Alford of Missouri; Riley Moore of West Virginia; Kat Cammack of Florida; Andy Harris of Maryland; Andy Ogles of Tennessee; Claudia Tenney of New York; Burgess Owens of Utah; Abe Hamadeh of Arizona; Anna Paulina Luna of Florida; Brandon Gill of Texas; John McGuire of Virginia; Robert Aderholt of Alabama; Mike Collins of Georgia; Eric Burlison of Missouri; Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Marlin Stutzman of Indiana; Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania; Mike Ezell of Mississippi; Russell Fry of South Carolina; Mark Harris of North Carolina; Buddy Carter of Georgia; Mike Kennedy of Utah; and Lance Gooden of Texas.

As Luna of Florida noted to Blaze News, "House Republicans are aligned."

"American elections should be fair and free, not subject to foreign influence," Gill told Blaze News. "Illegal aliens have no right to be in America, and they certainly shouldn't be voting."

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Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images

"We hear from the other side that voter ID is somehow racist," Owens told Blaze News, referring to common talking points peddled by Democrats. "That is nonsense. What is racist is assuming minorities can’t get an ID. That’s called the soft bigotry of low expectations, and it is wildly insulting. I’ve been a proud day-one co-sponsor of the SAVE Act."

"The longer the Senate waits, the longer this commonsense protection sits on the shelf," Pfluger told Blaze News. "Seven Democrat Senators must decide: Do they stand with Republicans in affirming that our elections are legal, fair, and only for American citizens, or don't they? The answer should be obvious. Pass this bill and get it to President Trump's desk."

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Anna Paulina Luna refers Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison for criminal charges: 'May justice be swift'



Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said she referred the Democratic governor and attorney general in Minnesota to the Department of Justice for criminal charges.

Luna said the action was the result of testimony provided before the Oversight Committee that was evidence of Democratic officials being complicit in fraud schemes in the Somali community.

'May justice be swift. The American people are tired of being taken advantage of.'

"Based on testimony today, I have enough evidence to believe both [Gov. Tim Walz] and [Attorney General Keith Ellison] were knowingly complicit in a Somali fraud scheme in Minnesota," she wrote on social media Wednesday.

"Therefore I have referred them BOTH to the DOJ for criminal charges," she added. "May justice be swift. The American people are tired of being taken advantage of."

Luna posted a video from questioning from the hearing where she asserted that Walz had known about the large-scale fraud as early as 2017 and 2018 but did little to address the scams.

She went on to say that they should be investigated for possibly violating laws against criminalized conspiracies to defraud the United States.

"Attorney General Ellison agreed on tape to fight Minnesota's own department of human and health services in exchange for Somali political and financial support," Luna said.

Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins (R) testified that Walz had allowed the fraud to grow under his watch.

"Tim Walz and his administration have willfully turned a blind eye to crime, in the face of countless whistleblower and auditor reports, as well as stories by local investigative journalists and Bill Glahn, a fellow at Center of the American Experiment," Robbins said. "These are actual crimes that must be punished. They are crimes against our moral values that erode trust in government. Governor Walz has known about fraud for years and failed to act."

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Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) had previously called on Walz and Ellison to provide "documents, communications, and records" to the committee related to the fraud. They are also called to testify before the committee in February.

Walz has announced that he would not seek a third term in a re-election campaign after his current term ends. Many suspect the growing scrutiny over the fraud allegations forced him to make the decision.

"Minnesota’s Corrupt Governor will possibly leave office before his Term is up but, in any event, will not be running again because he was caught, REDHANDED, along with Ilhan Omar, and others of his Somali friends, stealing Tens of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars," President Donald Trump responded on social media.

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