WATCH: CNN Expert Vindicates GOP On SAVE Act, Shuts Down Dems’ Narrative: ‘Not Controversial’

President Donald Trump is trying to tamp down a growing revolt on the right over a government funding deal he cut with Senate Democrats, as House conservatives threaten to block the package unless election integrity language is added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is caught in the middle as Republicans push to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act to the Trump-backed agreement negotiated last week with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The government entered its third day of a partial shutdown as the standoff deepened.

Adding the SAVE Act to the funding package would force the bill back to the Senate, where Schumer has already vowed to block it, a move that would almost certainly extend what was meant to be a short shutdown.

Donald Trump took to Truth Social to cool tensions, urging Republicans to back the deal as written.

“We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY,” Trump wrote. “There can be NO CHANGES at this time.”

Trump said he was working closely with Johnson to move the bill quickly, warning against a prolonged shutdown that would hurt both parties.

“We will work together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown that will hurt our Country so badly, One that will not benefit Republicans or Democrats,” he added. “I hope everyone will vote, YES!”

The pressure campaign is being led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and backed by several House conservatives who want the SAVE Act attached to the funding bill. The measure would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in person and mandate the removal of non-citizens from voter rolls.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said he was leaning against advancing the funding deal without the SAVE Act, while Reps. William Timmons of South Carolina and Eric Burlison of Missouri signaled similar opposition.

The push comes as Democrats and their allies try to frame the SAVE Act as extreme, even as that narrative has started to crack. A CNN legal analyst this week undercut Democratic talking points, noting that requiring proof of citizenship to vote is standard practice in many democracies and hardly controversial.

Despite that assessment, Senate Democrats remain dug in. Schumer blasted the proposal as “reminiscent of Jim Crow-era laws,” arguing it would suppress voters rather than secure elections.

“It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to,” William Timmons said. “If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown.”

Johnson faces a razor-thin margin. With just a one-vote majority, he can afford almost no defections during the upcoming rule vote, a procedural step required to bring the bill to the House floor.

If conservatives hold firm, the funding deal could collapse. If Johnson moves forward without them, Republicans risk internal fallout as Democrats continue to resist election integrity measures that even some on the left quietly acknowledge are mainstream.

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