House Republicans are reportedly hoping to pass major elements of the SAVE Act before year’s end using budget reconciliation.
Although the bill itself has already passed the House multiple times, it remains forever stalled in the Senate due to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. However, Republicans now have a plan to get it passed anyway, according to Committee on House Administration chairman Bryan Steil.
“I’d rather pass the SAVE America Act. But recognizing that the Senate might not be able to get that done with the 60-vote threshold, let’s leverage the parliamentary procedure, bring that threshold down to 50, and get some really commonsense reforms done,” he told Fox News.
House Republicans are moving to force key election integrity measures through Congress before the midterms — using the same budget reconciliation process that passed Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Rep. Bryan Steil, who chairs the Committee on House Administration, told Fox… pic.twitter.com/kKPJFJ7Pwn
— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) September 14, 2026
Though Steil would ideally like to see major parts of the SAVE Act passed via a reconciliation bill before the midterm elections hit in November, he admitted to Fox News that time is quickly running out.
The network noted that the process required to pursue budget reconciliation “is a lengthy one.” Indeed, it took Republicans half a year just to pass the One Big, Beautiful Bill via reconciliation last year.
For it to work, both the House and Senate must first each pass an initial “framework” that contains “instructions for relevant committees to enact policies that either spend or cut funding to a specified amount.”
“Those committees pass their portions, then send them back to the House and Senate budget committees to tie them together into one massive bill,” according to Fox News. “Identical bills must pass the House and Senate before getting to Trump’s desk.”
Steil is mainly aiming to push through two key provisions of the SAVE Act via reconciliation: a proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration, and an ID requirement for casting an election ballot.
“The House can go as fast as the Senate. And so the frustration that I and others have is the Senate’s not moving as fast as we would like on this,” Steil said. “I actually think there’s 50 votes in the Senate for some of these really commonsense provisions. I’d like to be sooner rather than later, but I don’t control them.”
But it’s not just a matter of moving the provisions — Republicans must also get the Senate parliamentarian on board. The parliamentarian is responsible for going through the reconciliation draft and weeding out any provisions that don’t adhere to process rules.
“That means anything that does not impact the federal government’s budget, tax policy, or the national debt is generally removed,” according to Fox News.
Some say the Senate could still technically overrule the parliamentarian.
🚨 BREAKING: Sen. Mike Lee just amplified the fact that Vice President JD VANCE has the FULL AUTHORITY to overrule the Democrat-linked Senate Parliamentarian
SCOTT PRESLER: “There will come a time that Vice President Vance needs to overrule the parliamentarian. It’s within his… pic.twitter.com/Z8mA1jt1ZV
— Tironianae 🍊🍊 Z. – Ultra Verbum Vincet (@Tironianae) August 31, 2026
Steil is nevertheless confident that the most important SAVE Act provisions could pass through the parliamentarian by tying the bill’s election rules to existing federal money that already goes to states. This money comes from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), the 2002 law passed after the Florida recount mess.
HAVA sends grants to states for voting machines, voter lists, accessibility, and general election administration. If Congress changes the conditions on those grants — “you get the money only if you do post-election audits / require photo ID / treat REAL ID as proof of citizenship” — then the policy change can be argued as a budget item, not just an election rule.
“We could free up those funds or enhance those funds for states to do those post-election audits, which is a really important part of election integrity,” Steil explained. “You can do the same in regards to photo ID. Effectively, when an individual gets REAL ID, they’re proving their citizenship.”
The Trump White House reportedly backs this strategy.
“The White House is engaged. We’ve had good conversations,” Steil said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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