Donald Trump’s big SAVE Act ultimatum just hit a wall—and the wall is his own Senate Majority Leader

President Trump has declared that he will not sign any bills until the SAVE Act passes, and he wants no “watered down” version of it either. This move could lead to serious gridlock in Washington.

The SAVE Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote nationwide, demand voter ID, and heavily restrict mail-in ballots. Under the bill, mail-in ballots would only be available for military members, people with illnesses or disabilities, or those traveling. While noncitizen voting is already illegal and rare, experts say the legislation could impact “millions of eligible voters” if it became law.

According to NBC News, Trump made his position clear on Truth Social, writing, “It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed.”

Trump’s additional demands go beyond what the House already passed

Trump also wrote: “AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION – GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. & PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY –  ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!”

It is worth noting that some of Trump’s demands, including provisions about men in women’s sports and ending gender reassignment surgery for children, are not included in the version of the bill the House already sent to the Senate last month.

Trump has been pushing for this for a while. In an interview last week, he said he was not “happy it’s not moving” and that he would “close government over it” because, to him, “that’s a core belief.” This means Trump could still refuse to sign a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security, which is currently facing a partial shutdown. Trump has also faced scrutiny on other fronts, including his stance on denying responsibility for overseas incidents.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer strongly opposed Trump’s announcement, saying the SAVE Act would “disenfranchise tens of millions of people.” He added, “If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate. Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances.”

Passing the bill in the Senate will be difficult. Most bills need 60 votes to pass, and Democrats are firmly against this one. There is pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to use a “talking filibuster” to try to get around that requirement, but Thune has pushed back, saying it would be hard to reopen the government if it were caught “in the throes of a talking filibuster.” He also admitted that the Republican conference is not unified enough for such a move.

There is also a legislative detail worth knowing: if the president does not sign a bill within 10 days of it passing Congress, it automatically becomes law. So Trump’s refusal to sign does not always guarantee a bill will fail to pass. Meanwhile, Trump’s foreign policy moves have also drawn criticism, with his plans to influence Iran’s political future being pushed back on by his own intelligence officials.