U.S. federal prosecutor Jay Clayton was scheduled for a Senate confirmation hearing this week, on Wednesday, when Trump announced he was delaying what was otherwise expected to be a quick confirmation process.
Reacting to that sudden decision on his “Washington Watch” program, host Tony Perkins said the president threw senators a political “curveball” by delaying Clayton’s nomination.
Explaining the politics at play, Rep. Brad Knott (R-North Carolina) told Perkins it was a well-timed move by Trump. The president, he said, is demanding the Senate vote on the SAVE America Act along with its plan to vote on and approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
“He is really on offense trying to get the SAVE America Act passed and signed into law,” Knott said of President Trump’s priorities.
H.R. 7296, the SAVE America Act, requires proof of citizenship and mandates a photo ID to vote in federal elections.
A federal law that requires photo ID to vote is at the top of the wish list for many conservatives and Republicans. That's because they believe Democrats routinely depend on cheating — from dead voters to illegal aliens — to win elections.
H.R. 7296 passed in the GOP-led U.S. House back in February in a narrow 218-213 vote, and it has sat in the GOP-led Senate ever since.
Supporters of the SAVE America Act in the Senate, attempting to maneuver around the 60 votes required for passage, have tried and failed to use budget reconciliation to get it passed. That amendment failed in a critical vote, on June 5, when four Republicans betrayed their party and voted it down.
The main person blamed for the unpassed bill is Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who is accused by some of working behind the scenes to defeat it.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance pushed back on Thune for stating it’s “unrealistic” to pass the SAVE America Act.
“Why don’t we try?” Vance countered. “At least force people to vote against it.”
Back on “Washington Watch,” Knott used California’s mail-in ballot system — where ballots are still being tabulated two weeks after the June 2 primary — to question if “blue” Democratic strongholds protect against voter fraud and properly count votes.
Meanwhile, the GOP congressman said polls show 75% of registered voters approve of voter ID and the SAVE America Act.
On a related topic, passage of the FISA Act, Perkins said that surveillance bill seems important after the Department of Justice busted a terror plot in recent days tied to the UFC fight at the White House.
That potential attack was “alarming” to learn about, said Knott, who also told Perkins he has privacy concerns, and oversight concerns, in the current version of the FISA Act.
Tying together the foiled terrorist attack and passage of the FISA Act, and the voting bill that is sitting in the Senate, the GOP congressman said Trump is not a person who gives up easily.
“Candidly, Tony, it might be a play here to try to get Republican support solidified around FISA to go ahead and get that across the finish line,” Knott shared. “And [President Trump] is still hoping that we can get the SAVE America Act through.”
