Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said there's no hope of President Donald Trump's top legislative priority passing the Senate, calling the odds "basically zero."
DeSantis made the prediction Monday on X, responding to a follower who asked about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility — or SAVE America — Act, which would require voters to show proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
The Senate has twice failed to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the bill past a Democratic filibuster, according to Newsweek. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Newsweek in June that Republicans simply do not have the votes.
"I think the chance the Senate actually passes a real SAVE Act before the August break is basically zero," DeSantis wrote on X. "Happy to be wrong about this, but I don't think I am."
Trump has made the bill the centerpiece of his 2026 legislative push, telling House Republicans in March it would "guarantee the midterms" and vowing he would not sign other legislation until it reached his desk, according to The Hill. He has also demanded the Senate cancel its August recess to keep the bill alive.
Thune has said the bill is "not something we can get done absent having an election and electing more Republicans," according to Newsweek.
Senate Rules Committee Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has warned that a federal mandate could give a future Democratic president tools to carry out "a complete federal takeover of American elections," according to Roll Call, writing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
"Unless they do the work to get to the 60 votes, they know it's dead, and so all this is theater," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told The News & Observer this month.
Trump escalated his pressure campaign Monday, posting on Truth Social that Thune "should not allow the United States Senate to 'leave town' until it passes The Save America Act…"
The Senate is scheduled to leave for its August recess after Aug. 7.