Reporter's Notebook: GOP's 'favorite bill' faces reality check as Senate stalls on SAVE America Act
Parents won’t admit that they have a favorite child.But they do.The same is true with lawmakers.They won’t admit they have a favorite bill.But they do.That’s why the SAVE America Act...
By Fox News · Fox News
Parents won’t admit that they have a favorite child. But they do. The same is true with lawmakers. They won’t admit they have a favorite bill. But they do. That’s why the SAVE America Act is the favorite bill of Senate Republicans. Until it isn’t. TRUMP DEMANDS SAVE AMERICA ACT BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS At some point, lawmakers will forge a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It could be today. Tomorrow. A week. A month. But it will happen. And until then, the Senate likely squats on the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote. The Senate is stalled here, partly because it lacks anything else to do. But mostly because the SAVE America Act is the "favorite child" of Republican senators — for now. It’s good optics for the Senate to look like it’s working on the hallmark of President Trump’s legislative agenda — even if it has no viable path to passage. And when the Senate eventually secures that DHS agreement, it will likely ditch its favorite child. The DHS bill will quickly matriculate in status to Republican senators. It’s not that GOP senators loved the SAVE America Act less. But that they loved funding DHS more. So why wouldn’t the Senate quickly revert to the SAVE America Act as soon as it passes DHS funding? Well, that’s because senators will acquire another favorite child: congressional recess. That’s right. If there’s a DHS deal, lawmakers will abandon Washington for about two weeks to observe Easter and Passover. Senators will wrestle with the SAVE America Act again down the road. But the measure is likely relegated to the island of misfit toys for legislation. Something called "budget reconciliation." More on that in a moment. Yes. Republicans relish talking about the importance of voter ID and securing elections so persons illegally in the country can’t cast ballots. But if enough Republicans really liked the SAVE America Act, they’d have the votes to pass the measure. The Senate has incinerated mo…