President Donald Trump used a roundtable event in Memphis, Tennessee to press Republican senators to forgo the upcoming Easter recess and prioritize passage of a voter identification bill he described as a condition of any deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
At the meeting, the president said party senators should remain in Washington and move on the measure immediately. "I’m requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately. You don’t have to take a fast vote. Don’t worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus," he told attendees.
The administration has tied the voting bill to legislation to reopen funding for Homeland Security, a department that has been partially shut down since Feb. 13 after Democrats demanded changes to immigration enforcement as part of negotiations. The partial lapse in appropriations has left tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration personnel working without pay for five weeks, and officials say some airport security employees have reported in sick or have left their posts.
The voting proposal under discussion would require people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote and to present a photo identification when casting ballots. That legislation faces firm opposition from Democrats and, as currently constituted, does not have the 60 votes required in the 100-member Senate to overcome a filibuster. Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber.
Lawmakers are scheduled to begin a two-week Easter recess at the end of this week, a calendar break the president urged Republicans to postpone or curtail as part of his push to secure votes. The request places the dispute over funding for a core national security agency alongside a contentious election-related policy debate, with both measures currently unresolved in the Senate.
The outcome of negotiations will determine whether Homeland Security receives the appropriations needed to resume normal operations and whether the voter identification measure reaches the floor in a form capable of clearing procedural hurdles in the Senate.