Schumer nukes GOP push for 'Jim Crow-era' voter ID laws in Trump-backed shutdown package
What's the endgame here?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that if House Republicans try to jam voter ID legislation into the Trump-backed funding deal, it would be dead on arrival in the Senate.
House Republicans want to walk away from the current spending fight with a victory of sorts, despite President Donald Trump taking the lead and negotiating a temporary funding truce with Schumer and Senate Democrats.
They’re demanding that the five-bill funding package, which stripped out the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill in favor of a two-week funding extension, also include the House Republicans’ updated Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, dubbed the SAVE America Act.
SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR HOUSE GOP REBELLION AGAINST FUNDING PACKAGE, VOTER ID LEGISLATION
But doing so is a bridge too far for Schumer. The top Senate Democrat argued that the legislation, which has been sitting on the shelf in the House for months, is "reminiscent of Jim Crow-era laws," and would act as a means to suppress voters rather than encourage more secure elections.
"I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement.
"It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown," he continued.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN
The updated version of the SAVE Act would require that people present photo identification before voting, states obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the push to attach the voter ID legislation to the funding package, countered Schumer's accusation in a post on X.
"If you are a minority that wants a voter ID, apparently you are for racist policies according to [Schumer]," she said.
Schumer’s edict touches on the reality of the partisan divide in the Senate and the nature of passing any legislation in most cases. In order for the SAVE Act to become law, it would have to get at least 60 votes in the upper chamber. And given Senate Democrats’ disdain for the bill, that is unlikely.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES THREATEN EXTENDED SHUTDOWN OVER ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURE
And adding the bill would further disincentivize House Democrats, who are already leery of the deal. House Speaker …
What's the endgame here?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that if House Republicans try to jam voter ID legislation into the Trump-backed funding deal, it would be dead on arrival in the Senate.
House Republicans want to walk away from the current spending fight with a victory of sorts, despite President Donald Trump taking the lead and negotiating a temporary funding truce with Schumer and Senate Democrats.
They’re demanding that the five-bill funding package, which stripped out the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill in favor of a two-week funding extension, also include the House Republicans’ updated Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, dubbed the SAVE America Act.
SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR HOUSE GOP REBELLION AGAINST FUNDING PACKAGE, VOTER ID LEGISLATION
But doing so is a bridge too far for Schumer. The top Senate Democrat argued that the legislation, which has been sitting on the shelf in the House for months, is "reminiscent of Jim Crow-era laws," and would act as a means to suppress voters rather than encourage more secure elections.
"I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement.
"It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown," he continued.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN
The updated version of the SAVE Act would require that people present photo identification before voting, states obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the push to attach the voter ID legislation to the funding package, countered Schumer's accusation in a post on X.
"If you are a minority that wants a voter ID, apparently you are for racist policies according to [Schumer]," she said.
Schumer’s edict touches on the reality of the partisan divide in the Senate and the nature of passing any legislation in most cases. In order for the SAVE Act to become law, it would have to get at least 60 votes in the upper chamber. And given Senate Democrats’ disdain for the bill, that is unlikely.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES THREATEN EXTENDED SHUTDOWN OVER ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURE
And adding the bill would further disincentivize House Democrats, who are already leery of the deal. House Speaker …
Schumer nukes GOP push for 'Jim Crow-era' voter ID laws in Trump-backed shutdown package
What's the endgame here?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that if House Republicans try to jam voter ID legislation into the Trump-backed funding deal, it would be dead on arrival in the Senate.
House Republicans want to walk away from the current spending fight with a victory of sorts, despite President Donald Trump taking the lead and negotiating a temporary funding truce with Schumer and Senate Democrats.
They’re demanding that the five-bill funding package, which stripped out the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill in favor of a two-week funding extension, also include the House Republicans’ updated Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, dubbed the SAVE America Act.
SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR HOUSE GOP REBELLION AGAINST FUNDING PACKAGE, VOTER ID LEGISLATION
But doing so is a bridge too far for Schumer. The top Senate Democrat argued that the legislation, which has been sitting on the shelf in the House for months, is "reminiscent of Jim Crow-era laws," and would act as a means to suppress voters rather than encourage more secure elections.
"I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate," Schumer said in a statement.
"It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown," he continued.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN
The updated version of the SAVE Act would require that people present photo identification before voting, states obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove non-citizens from voter rolls.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the push to attach the voter ID legislation to the funding package, countered Schumer's accusation in a post on X.
"If you are a minority that wants a voter ID, apparently you are for racist policies according to [Schumer]," she said.
Schumer’s edict touches on the reality of the partisan divide in the Senate and the nature of passing any legislation in most cases. In order for the SAVE Act to become law, it would have to get at least 60 votes in the upper chamber. And given Senate Democrats’ disdain for the bill, that is unlikely.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES THREATEN EXTENDED SHUTDOWN OVER ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURE
And adding the bill would further disincentivize House Democrats, who are already leery of the deal. House Speaker …
