On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill to fund the State Department, national security, and related programs for fiscal year 2027. The measure passed by a vote of 217-209, with one Democrat supporting the bill and one Republican opposing it, and was sent to the Senate for consideration.

Concurrently, House Republicans attached the Save America Act—a bill seeking to ban mail-in ballots and impose new voter identification requirements—to the spending bill. This move was largely along party lines and aimed to address former President Donald Trump’s demand for nationwide voting restrictions.

The Save America Act has been a point of contention. The Trump administration argues it is necessary to prevent non-citizens from voting and to combat election fraud. However, voting rights advocates contend there is no evidence of widespread election tampering and warn the bill could disenfranchise many eligible voters ahead of the November midterm elections.

The House had previously approved a version of the Save America Act in February, but it faces significant opposition in the Senate, where Democrats are expected to use the filibuster to block it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared the bill "dead on arrival" in the Senate, vowing to kill any attempt to pass it. Schumer criticized the bill as an effort to "resurrect the old ghost of Jim Crow."

Senator John Luna warned that if Senate Republican leader John Thune removes the Save America Act from the spending bill, he would face political consequences, including potential censure or primary challenges.

The controversy surrounding the Save America Act has also affected other legislation. Schumer has linked its passage to the renewal of a foreign surveillance law and has refused to sign a bipartisan federal housing policy bill in protest of the lack of progress on the voting restrictions.

Despite these challenges, rightwing House Republicans, with Speaker Mike Johnson's agreement, prioritized combining the Save America Act with the State Department funding bill, resulting in the House's narrow approval of the combined measure.

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