{"id":21299,"date":"2026-07-29T20:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21299"},"modified":"2026-07-29T20:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:46:07","slug":"the-brief-trumps-fixation-on-the-save-act-has-become-a-defining-force-in-american-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=21299","title":{"rendered":"The Brief: Trump\u2019s Fixation on the SAVE Act Has Become a Defining Force in American Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-022fddcc-52bb-4aa1-906d-2f34a32c264b\">How to Think About the SAVE Act<\/h2>\n<p>The SAVE America Act is playing a few roles in our politics right now. <\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, it is a sweeping voter suppression bill, and one prong of Trump\u2019s multifaceted assault on elections. Should it become law, it would add new hurdles for a wide range of Americans to participate in democracy, including voter ID for casting a ballot and proof of citizenship to register to vote. Republican supporters of the bill seem to have the impression that these restrictions would overwhelmingly hurt Democrats, and they are likely right: Recent polling by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gelliottmorris.com\/p\/2026-07-24-save-act-proof-of-citizenship-july-poll\" target=\"_blank\">G. Elliott Morris at Strength In Numbers<\/a> shows a greater number of Democrats \u2014 and Black Americans in particular \u2014 are likely to have trouble producing the documents needed to prove their citizenship. <a href=\"https:\/\/bipartisanpolicy.org\/article\/five-things-to-know-about-the-save-act\/\" target=\"_blank\">The law would hit Republicans<\/a>, too \u2014 more than its supporters seem to realize. Among other things, women who change their names when they get married, a group that certainly includes many white, American-born, Republican voters, may have to provide additional documents to prove their citizenship under their new name.<\/p>\n<p>So thats\u2019s the reality of the SAVE Act, if it passes. Quite significant. <\/p>\n<p>At the same time, the more expansive versions of the SAVE Act, including versions with national mandates around voter ID and proof of citizenship, have never had a clear path through the Senate \u2014 even as Trump sporadically attempts to up the pressure on his fellow Republicans to make it happen. <\/p>\n<p>That, despite the seriousness of the legislation at hand, has led to an almost comic dynamic where everything the Senate, and much that the House, tries to accomplish is derailed by new Trump demands related to the SAVE Act. It has blown up primaries, too; Ken Paxton was able to prevent a Trump endorsement of Sen. John Cornyn (R), and <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/trump-texas-endorsement-paxton-cornyn\" target=\"_blank\">ultimately win it for himself<\/a>, by painting Cornyn as an insufficiently dedicated supporter of the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>So we cover all this keeping two things in our mind at once: Should Republicans find a way to maneuver the SAVE Act through Congress \u2014 including by finally agreeing to nuke the filibuster for it, as Trump has demanded \u2014 it would create a sweeping distortion of the franchise. In the meantime, however, it has been a force for chaos, with Trump\u2019s monomaniacal fixation on it leading to a far less effective Republican trifecta than we might have predicted in the early days of his second term.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-dc6365b8-9687-4ee9-a43b-fc5345a72d3e\">Trump Gets His New, Permanent DNI<\/h2>\n<div class=\"GalleryImageWrapper\">\n<h2 class=\"GalleryImageWrapper__Title\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"600\" width=\"804\" src=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?w=804\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1553390\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg 7544w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=768,573 768w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=804,600 804w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=1536,1146 1536w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=2048,1528 2048w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=600,448 600w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=1000,746 1000w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=1200,895 1200w, https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283193302.jpg?resize=400,300 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 804px) 100vw, 804px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 JUNE 24: Acting Director of National Intelligence is Bill Pulte (L) and U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin attend a rally to kick off the Great American State Fair on the National Mall on June 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Freedom 250-backed Great American State Fair celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States with pavilions, live performances, military demonstrations, and exhibits and runs through July 10th. (Photo by Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jay Clayton was confirmed last night, <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/jay-clayton-confirmed-as-dni-a-position-trump-warped-to-feed-his-election-conspiracy-theories\" target=\"_blank\">Khaya Himmelman reports for TPM<\/a>, replacing Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte. <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>His confirmation hearing was defined by his <a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/news\/odni-nominee-claytons-answers-on-election-integrity-are-too-cute-by-half\" target=\"_blank\">alarming refusal to state plainly<\/a> that Trump lost the 2020 election.<\/li>\n<li>While that has become a kind of standard operating procedure for Trump nominees before the Senate, it is particularly troubling given what the DNI job has become under Trump: Former DNI Tulsi Gabbard participated in the FBI raid on Fulton County, Georgia\u2019s election hub. Current, acting DNI Bill Pulte headed up a largely ineffectual, new effort to again undermine the 2020 election, culminating in Trump\u2019s big primetime speech earlier this month.<\/li>\n<li>Fittingly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/playbook\/2026\/07\/29\/pultes-power-play-01014683\" target=\"_blank\">Politico<\/a> reports this morning that Pulte is agitating to stay in his acting role a little longer, pushing Trump to delay Clayton\u2019s swearing-in. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-180d80c6-b895-427d-b63f-3cec322e7b29\">Tabs<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Former FBI Director James Comey\u2019s lawyers are seeking grand jury transcripts related to his seashell-photo indictment, <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/annabower.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\">Lawfare\u2019s Anna Bower notes<\/a> \u2014 raising fresh questions about the Trump DOJ\u2019s dealings with grand juries as it seeks to punish its enemies. <\/li>\n<li>Trump said on Truth Social earlier this month that he would ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling on birthright citizenship. The deadline to do so has passed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/trump-hasnt-asked-supreme-court-rehear-birthright-citizenship-case-vow-rcna589061\" target=\"_blank\">NBC reports<\/a>, and he has not. <\/li>\n<li>Large majorities of Americans support term limits for members of Congress, greater restrictions on money in politics, and scrapping the Electoral College, new polling by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2026\/07\/28\/most-americans-favor-big-changes-to-the-political-system-that-likely-would-require-amending-the-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pew Research Center<\/a> finds. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-51ce142f-1fb4-46dd-9e66-cff74a1daaeb\">Man of the Hour<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-bluesky-social wp-block-embed-bluesky-social\"\/>\n<p>It\u2019s Ross Douthat, leaving his job as a top New York Times opinion writer to become the face of Bari Weiss\u2019 60 minutes. Good luck in the new job, Ross.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h2-37c4cb9a-9ab7-49cb-93d1-dd7d9badeb94\">Are We at War?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-military-says-it-intercepted-iranian-ballistic-missiles-launched-towards-us-2026-07-28\/\" target=\"_blank\">Yes<\/a>, with a wave of missiles fired by Iran overnight and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/07\/28\/world\/iran-us-strikes-iraq-trump\" target=\"_blank\">Saudi Arabia joining the U.S.<\/a> in striking Iranian militias. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n        appId: \"101800829865996\",\n        xfbml: true,\n        version: ' v2.6'\n      });\n      window.fbAsyncInit.__didInit = true;\n    };\n    (function(d, s, id) {\n      var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n      if (d.getElementById(id)) {\n        return;\n      }\n      js = d.createElement(s);\n      js.id = id;\n      js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n      fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n    }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n  <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Think About the SAVE Act The SAVE America Act is playing a few roles in our politics right now. On the one hand, it is a sweeping voter suppression bill, and one prong of Trump\u2019s multifaceted assault on elections. Should it become law, it would add new hurdles for a wide range of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2283150786.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}