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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"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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As we approach the 2024 election, states across the country are removing thousands of noncitizens from their voter rolls. Yet amid a surge of millions of immigrants across our borders, Democrats seem intent not only on undermining these state-led efforts, and leaving the election system vulnerable to potentially unprecedented noncitizen participation, but on threatening those […]
Major college fires worker after posts celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination. It's just the tip of ugly leftist iceberg.
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination last week, leftists far and wide who didn't like the words or politics of the TPUSA founder let loose on social media and celebrated Kirk's horrific death from a gunshot at an outdoor student event at Utah Valley University.
One of those anti-Kirk voices is a Clemson University employee — and the South Carolina public college suspended that unnamed worker Saturday.
'After being notified on Friday to stay out of the classroom, two faculty members now have been removed from their teaching duties pending investigation for termination.'
"Clemson University continues to thoroughly review the inappropriate social media content posted by employees in response to the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk," the school said in its Saturday statement. "As stated previously, the University will take decisive and appropriate action in cases where speech is not protected under the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment."
The Post and Courier said assistant music professor Melvin Earl Villaver Jr. allegedly posted remarks about Kirk’s death. The paper noted in a separate story that one screenshot appearing to reference Kirk states, "Today was one of the most beautiful days ever."
U.S. Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) was livid over the alleged posts and called out Villaver: "Celebrating Charlie Kirk's death is sick. What kind of depraved person thinks this is acceptable? Our tax dollars should not pay him another damn dime. I call on Clemson to fire him immediately!"
Screenshots included with Fry's takedown showed comments and retweets allegedly from Villaver saying:
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Well, Clemson on Monday afternoon announced that "following an immediate and deliberate investigation into inappropriate social media content, Clemson today terminated an employee due to their social media posts." The school's statement did not name the employee or say what the posts were about.
The Post and Courier said Villaver could not be reached for comment; the X account @MelvinEarlMusic — from which the paper said his alleged remarks and reposts were cited — now "doesn't exist."
But WHNS-TV reported that Clemson called a special Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon after facing backlash over comments believed to be made by some employees and professors about Kirk’s death.
The paper, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the remarks attributed to Villaver were not the only ones to draw criticism.
Indeed, the school's Monday statement on X added the following: "After being notified on Friday to stay out of the classroom, two faculty members now have been removed from their teaching duties pending investigation for termination."
Prior to the firing announcement, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) wrote the following X post: "Your First Amendment rights do not include a right to a job! Clemson's professors were completely inappropriate. The vile and disgusting celebration of a murder must compel the university to take clear and immediate action."
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also called on Clemson to commence firings: "Free speech doesn't prevent you from being fired if you're stupid and have poor judgement. The despicable, inappropriate and classless statements about a tragic event should not diminish a great university like @ClemsonUniv. However, in my opinion, those who made these despicable, inappropriate and classless statements should be good candidates for termination by this public university."
RELATED: Professor who shared vile response to Kirk's assassination receives lesson about consequences: 'Sick people'
As readers of Blaze News are no doubt aware, the number of reports about people from all walks of life spouting off inappropriate comments about Charlie Kirk's assassination seem to be piling up at an astronomical rate.
What's more, it doesn't seem to be ending well for many of them:
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