President Donald Trump said Sunday that his Republicans should not reach a deal on funding the Department of Homeland Security until Democrats in Congress pass a bill that would require people to register to vote to prove their U.S. citizenship.
In a social media post, Trump said Republicans in Congress should make “no deal” with Democrats until they agree to pass a voter bill known as the Save America Act. Trump pointed to demands from Democratic lawmakers related to the DHS funding dispute, which has left the agency without funds since Feb. 13.
The lack of funding has caused tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration employees to work five weeks without pay, prompting some airport security workers to call in sick or quit altogether. TSA absences this weekend reached their highest level since the partial government shutdown began, DHS said Sunday.
Passing the voter bill, Trump wrote, is “far more important than anything else” on the Senate agenda, including DHS funding.
The president had already threatened on March 8 to withhold his signature on any other legislation until Congress passes a Republican-backed ballot bill.
The bill currently lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
On Sunday, Trump also pushed for Democrats to approve other items he wants to add to the bill, including a ban on transgender women in women’s sports, a ban on “transgender mutilation of our children” and restrictions on mail-in ballots except in cases of illness, disability, military service or travel.
Republicans have resisted Democratic lawmakers’ demands for immigration and customs enforcement reforms as a condition of DHS funding.
In an effort to increase pressure on Democrats, Trump said this weekend that he would station ICE agents at airports until Democratic lawmakers agree to a DHS budget proposal. Trump said Sunday that he would deploy ICE personnel to airports “as long as needed,” according to NewsNation.
Supporters of the Save America Act argued that it would help prevent voter fraud. Republicans have repeated Trump’s false claims that large numbers of people who are in the country illegally are voting in US elections.
Democrats and other critics of the bill argued that it could disenfranchise Americans who do not have easy access to passports, birth certificates and other forms of identification.
