President Trump Thursday evening revealed stunning, newly declassified intelligence detailing how China worked to compromise the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden.
During his address to the nation, Trump also said that an initial investigation into voting rolls across just four states found that nearly a quarter of a million non-citizens were registered to vote.
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After telling Americans the declassified documents were being posted to the White House website, he went on to say the intelligence was known by the CIA ahead of the 2020 election.
However, he added, officials within the agency worked to keep the information secret instead of providing it to him as required by the agency’s mandate.
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From there, Trump said he has directed the Justice Department to investigate and hold anyone accountable who may have broken the law before asking Congress, again, to pass the SAVE America Act.
On Friday, conservatives voiced strong support for Trump after he renwed his call to pass the bill, arguing that the legislation is needed to address what he described as serious election integrity vulnerabilities uncovered by his administration.
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“Thank you, Mr. President,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., wrote on social media.
“We are going to lose our country if we don’t pass the dadgum SAVE America Act. Call your senator and tell them to save our great nation,” he added.
During his speech, Trump said, “Tonight, I’m announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure.”
As a response, Trump urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act, legislation that would, among other provisions, require individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
“I ask you to pick up your phone tomorrow, call your representatives in the House and Senate, and demand that they pass the Save America Act without delay,” Trump said.
“Together, we will restore faith and confidence in our country, and we will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” the president added.
Republicans began to immediately echo his call in online posts.
“It is more important than ever to crush foreign election interference. It is more important than ever to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a post to X.
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Hans Von Spakovsky, an election expert with Advancing American Freedom, a conservative think tank, agreed.
“The president is absolutely correct that the SAVE Act needs to be passed to implement universal voter ID and proof of citizenship,” Spakovsky said.
“He is also correct that the only reason an elected official would oppose this is because that official wants to make it easy to cheat and ensure that aliens who register and vote are not caught,” Spakovsky noted further.
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The SAVE Act has passed the House of Representatives multiple times but has stalled in the Senate, where Democratic opposition has prevented it from advancing.
Under current Senate rules, most legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, while Republicans currently hold 53 seats.
That said, some Republican senators have also opposed the bill. On Friday, retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he would use “every tool available” to prevent the act from passing via a budget reconcilation bill.
Although Trump has urged Republicans to eliminate the filibuster, several GOP senators have continued to support preserving the rule, arguing that it encourages at least some degree of bipartisan cooperation on major legislation.
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Following Trump’s renewed push on Thursday, however, additional voices called on the Senate to reconsider the procedural rule, Fox News reported.
“The Senate needs to end the zombie filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act. Election integrity is far more important than the dying institutional ‘norms’ of the Senate,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on X shortly after Trump’s speech.