GOP senators seek to link restrictions on noncitizen voting to essential spending legislation.

Several GOP lawmakers have urged their fellow legislators to back a bill that ensures election security and mandates voter identification on the upcoming emergency funding bill, which is set to expire at the end of next month.

This week, Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, both prominent conservatives, advocated for a bill that mandates proof of citizenship before voting in federal elections to be linked to a spending bill extension to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.

Lee argued that there is no strong opposition to attaching the SAVE Act to the September spending bill in one of several posts advocating for the idea.

The SAVE Act received support from other Republican senators, including Tommy Tuberville and Rick Scott, who posted about it on X. Unlike some of their colleagues, they did not advocate for the bill to be included in a continuing resolution to extend the current spending bill.

"Texas recently removed over 6,500 non-citizens from its voter rolls, with nearly 2,000 of them having illegally voted in past elections. This poses a threat to our democratic process, and it is imperative that we act now by passing my SAVE Act to put an end to illegal voting," Scott stated.

The SAVE Act was initially passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 221-198, with five Democrats voting against their party to support it. These Democrats were Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Jared Golden, D-Maine, Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.

The Freedom Caucus wants the SAVE Act included in the next month's government spending package to avoid a potential government shutdown.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X that the House GOP should force the question by attaching the SAVE Act to a 6-month funding bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. He also criticized the Senate, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for not taking up the bill for a vote on its own.

A top Republican appropriator has expressed doubt about including a spending measure backed by former President Trump, which some conservative lawmakers view as an opportunity to force a vote on their priority.

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., stated last month that if a bill cannot pass the Senate, it will not be an effective CR.

The Senate GOP aide stated that keeping the government open and preventing a shutdown is a top priority for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, and he does not support tying the SAVE Act to a spending bill.

The Biden-Harris administration has expressed its opposition to the SAVE Act, stating that it wouldn't be signed by the president if it were passed.

According to a statement of administration policy from last month, it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in Federal elections, and this is considered a Federal crime that can result in imprisonment and fines.

The Trump campaign did not comment on whether the bill should be included in a spending measure but reiterated its support for the quick passage of the SAVE Act. The campaign directed Planet Chronicle Digital to the former president's Truth Social post from last month, where he stated, "Republicans must pass the Save Act, or go home and cry yourself to sleep."