96% of government funding cleared; SAVE Act vote expected as DHS talks start
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Summary
An unidentified Senate speaker said a House-passed bill sent to the president will fund about 96% of the federal government and left roughly 4% on a two-week continuing resolution, setting up negotiations over DHS funding and a likely future vote on the SAVE Act.
An unidentified speaker told reporters that a House-passed funding bill "will be headed to the president, and we will have fully 96% of the federal government funded," leaving about 4% covered by a two-week continuing resolution that he said is too short to settle DHS-related issues.
The speaker said talks over the Department of Homeland Security will begin and named Katie Britt as the Senate member who "will lead that on our side," while stressing that negotiations should not make it harder to "deport and detain dangerous illegal aliens" or undermine law-enforcement safety. "No federal employee should be taken hostage by a government shutdown," he said, characterizing the House action as important to avoid that outcome.
When asked whether he would "commit to putting the Save Act on the floor, and will you sidestep the filibuster to get it passed?" the speaker replied, "we will get a vote on the Save Act at some point," adding that it "might be in the context of voting on the DHS bill if something's agreed upon." He did not promise to change filibuster rules to force passage.
On the subject of "nationalizing" elections, the speaker said the president had clarified he meant supporting the SAVE Act and framed the measure narrowly as ensuring only citizens vote. "So with respect to whether or not... that signifies ensuring that only citizens of this country vote in our elections, that's something I think we all agree with," he said.
The speaker cautioned that attempting to force a talking filibuster would "tie the floor up for an indefinite amount of time" because of unlimited debate and amendments, and could delay other priorities. He described floor time as finite and said the conference will weigh how to proceed.
The next procedural steps are contingent on intraparty conference discussions: the speaker said the conference will determine timing for a SAVE Act vote and whether it will be attached to DHS funding. No formal vote on the SAVE Act was recorded during the briefing.
