Political Commentator (6:09)
Story number one, Senator Mike Lee is saying now that there is a planned vote on the Save America act that will show who is fighting for securing elections and also who fears them. Mike Lee said the plan vote on the SAVE act will reveal exactly who's on the side of America is another way of putting it. Now let me give you a background on where how we got to this point. This has been one of the biggest political fights happening in Washington right now. And it is a fight in Washington, but not actually among the American people because polling shows that the majority of Americans are in favor of the SAVE Act. That is not a controversy. So why is Washington doing what they're doing? Because Democrats want to cheat. That's what this is all about. This would Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. That's what the SAVE act stands for. The legislation has become a major priority for Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for one reason, because there shouldn't be people that are voting illegally in our elections. Now what does the SAVE act do? That is a big question that so many have asked and I think it's important that we answer it. At its core, this bill would require and this is not crazy, the majority of Americans are in favor it documenting proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections along with stronger voter ID requirements. Many supporters and other countries around the world that do what we're trying to do in the US have not only said that the goal is simple, it is to ensure that only American citizens are voting in American elections. This is why the majority of Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of this. Now. The House of Representatives has already passed their version of the bill with strong Republican support. The focus has now shifted to the U.S. sen. Senate where the legislation faces a difficult path because it would likely need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. And that's where the political fight is really heating up. President Trump and GOP leaders. And I'm talking about real leaders, okay? Not Thune. I'm talking about the other ones, all right, Are now pushing hard on this because the American people are demanding it. President Trump promised it, and that's why many people voted for Donald Trump. President Trump has made the SAVE Act a centerpiece issue of legislation. He's been out there arguing that election integrity reforms are essential ahead of the upcoming elections. Now, at a Republican gathering earlier this month, President Trump said voter ID and citizenship verification laws are overwhelmingly supported by the American public and are necessary to protect elections. Trump has also taken the extraordinary steps of pressuring Congress to act on this, saying he does not want to sign other legislation until the SAVE act is passed, making it clearly his top priority. That is exactly what the president had to do. Spend that political capital to get us where we are now. That's also sad, because the president shouldn't have had to have done that. It should have been something that the Democratic Party overwhelmingly support as well, because the majority of Americans support it. This should have gotten to 60 votes, easily. The only reason why it hasn't is because of one reason. Democrats love to cheat in elections, and they want to cheat. That is the only reason why you wouldn't support the SAVE Act. Now, Republicans in Congress say the legislation is about restoring confidence in elections after years of controversy and distrust by the American people. Several GOP senators and candidates have even suggested changing Senate rules, including bringing back a talking filibuster to force the bill through if Democrats continue to block it. Now, this is where the politics comes in, and it's really interesting to see what the politics are on this one. All right, uh, you've got Senator John Cornyn, who is upside down. I mean, in a big way. All right? I want to be clear about that. He is. Did not get 50 plus 1% in his primary, uh, challenge by Ken Paxton. Uh, you also had Wesley Hunt. He's out. It's now gone to a runoff. John Cornyn has now been forced to shift his stance on. On the Senate rules as the pressure from conservative voters is growing to get the bill across the finish line. If he doesn't, he is definitely done in this primary runoff that they're having in Texas right now. So that's one of the reasons why we're seeing this moving. Because let's be clear, John Cornyn was holding this thing up. Now, not, not every Republican agrees on the tactics that we're dealing with right now. Senate leadership, for example, has acknowledged the math is difficult right now. Republicans holding a narrow majority in the Senate, the bill would still need Democratic votes to reach the 60 vote threshold, which leadership says is unlikely at this moment. Republican leaders say the plan to force votes and put Democrats on record opposing what they describe and what the American people agree is a common sense election protections is still worth it. So let's go to the polling here because that's something else that Americans need to understand. Republicans are making it very clear that are behind this, including President Trump, that the numbers show that the American people want this. Polling numbers frequently cited by supporters of this legislation are showing that there is strong national support for voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements. Now, according to recent polling cited by the White House, 71% of Americans support the Save America Act, 81% of Americans support voter ID requirements, 75% of voters support proof of citizenship to vote, and 69% of independents support the legislation. Now here's the part that's really interesting. Even about half of Democrats support the proposal as well, saying yes, only Americans should vote in our elections. Now, separate polling has also showed showed high support for voter ID laws more broadly in general. Let me give you those numbers so you understand this is a bipartisan issue. 84% of Americans support requiring photo ID to vote. That's more than 8 out of 10Americans. 83% support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote because it's insane that you could be able to vote without showing that you're a citizen. Supporters say those numbers are showing one thing. This is as bipartisan as it gets in 2026. It's one of the most popular election reforms in decades in this country. And there is a clear consensus. It goes back to the question, why are Democrats against it now? Critics warn of major voting barriers. Right is what they say. And I'm going to go through those in a moment. But I also want you to hear the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, what he had to say about what will happen this week.
