Senate Filibuster Killing Common Sense Election Security: Byron Donalds [WATCH]

Rep. Byron Donalds criticized the U.S. Senate for failing to act on the SAVE Act, legislation passed by the House more than seven months ago that aims to secure federal elections by ensuring that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote.

The issue was raised during a Newsmax segment in which host Carl Higbie questioned why the Senate has not taken up the bill, despite the House having already acted.

“235, days since the House passed the Save Act, which would secure our elections. The constitution is clear. You can provide some integration and some framework for our elections, voter ID, things like that, but the Senate is not moving on it. What is going on here?” Higbie said.

Donalds responded by placing the blame squarely on the Senate’s procedural rules and leadership, saying the chamber has become a roadblock to legislation that already has support in the House.

“The Senate doesn’t work. I’ve been very clear on this one, the filibuster is a major hurdle to getting common sense policy through both chambers of Congress here in Washington, DC, the Save act is common sense,” Donalds said.

The SAVE Act was passed by the House with the stated goal of reinforcing election integrity by clarifying that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections.

Donalds argued that regardless of partisan disagreements, the Senate should at least allow the legislation to come to a vote.

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“It should go up for a vote. If Democrat senators want to vote it down, let them be on the record for it, but for it to not even get a vote in the Senate makes no sense,” he said.

Donalds said frustration over stalled legislation is growing on Capitol Hill, particularly among lawmakers who see House-passed bills languish indefinitely once they reach the Senate.

“And this is actually one of the big issues we’re having here on Capitol Hill. A lot of people are upset. They’re saying, Well, why isn’t Congress doing more?” Donalds said.

He explained that concerns about Senate inaction can even affect which bills House leadership chooses to bring to the floor, creating a bottleneck in the legislative process.

“I will tell you, a lot of policy ideas that are filed in the house don’t even get to the floor because leadership is concerned. I don’t agree with them, but they’re concerned about things just going to sit in the Senate and not getting any action,” Donalds said.

Despite those concerns, Donalds said the House should continue passing legislation and sending it to the Senate, forcing senators to take clear positions on key issues.

“I think we should continue to do our jobs here in the house, send bills over to the Senate, but the Senate has got to start voting for things,” he said.

Donalds specifically named election-related measures he believes should be brought up for votes, even if Democrats oppose them.

“If Democrats want to vote things down, like the Save Act, or if they want to vote down voter ID in federal elections, or if they want to vote down simple common sense, things like making sure that illegals are not counted for the purpose of setting congressional districts that should all be voted for in the United States Senate, and if Democrats vote no, let the American people see that clearly,” Donalds said.

Higbie agreed with the need to put senators on the record before closing out the segment.

“Yeah, and get them on the record like you said. Well, Congressman Byron Donalds, we appreciate it,” Higbie said.

WATCH:

🚨 HUGE: Rep. Byron Donalds calls on Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE Act to guarantee only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections.

“The House PASSED the SAVE Act AGAIN months ago, but the Senate is blocking it. It’s ridiculous that this critical… pic.twitter.com/kdcqT6U78T

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) December 23, 2025