President Donald Trump urged lawmakers during the State of the Union to pass the SAVE Act, a measure that would require proof of citizenship to vote, and to enact a ban on congressional stock trading, while saying Congress should not interfere with his new tariffs, Trump said.
Trump told lawmakers that “Congressional action will not be necessary” to support his tariff moves and argued the levies could eventually replace the nation’s income tax, according to his speech. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld Congress’s power to impose tariffs, and Trump has leaned on a different statute to impose additional levies, the White House said.
The SAVE Act has cleared the House, but its fate in the Senate is uncertain. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Senate is “working” and that support exists among Republicans, adding, “I think every Republican over there is obviously in favor of the SAVE America Act,” and that it is “a 70% Democrat issue. It’s over 90% in some polls,” Johnson said.
Supporters have pointed to studies arguing voter fraud is rare. A study cited by the conservative Heritage Foundation found only 39 instances of voting fraud in Pennsylvania over three decades, the foundation reported. Fifty Republican senators back the SAVE Act, but advocates would need 60 votes to break a filibuster, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has resisted changing filibuster rules, saying Republican unity would be required.
Trump also urged a ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., applauded the call during the speech, and Johnson said the House is trying to move the legislation “as aggressively and as quickly as we can” but must first secure the necessary votes before bringing it to the floor.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
