U.S. President Donald Trump on the 8th (local time) urged swift action on the "Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act," saying, "As president, I will not sign any other bills until this bill passes."
The core of the bill is to require voters to present identification proving U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in U.S. states.
Trump said on his social media, Truth Social, that "(this law) must take effect immediately. It must be handled as the top priority over everything else." He added, "We must go with the best bill, not a watered-down version."
The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year and has been pending in the Senate. However, its chances of passage are reportedly slim.
Trump has continued to push for the bill because he suspects that the lack of mandatory voter ID has enabled proxy voting by undocumented immigrants in U.S. elections, leading to widespread election fraud that favored the opposition Democratic Party. The Democratic Party argues there is no basis for Trump's allegations and opposes the bill.
On Truth Social the same day, Trump listed items he said must be included in the bill: ▲ mandatory presentation of voter ID and proof of citizenship ▲ a ban on mail-in voting except for military service, illness, disability, or travel; and, beyond election-related items, ▲ a ban on men participating in women's sports ▲ a ban on gender transition surgeries for children.
Regarding this, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview that Trump added transgender-related provisions as essential because "these too are common-sense proposals and policies supported by a majority of the public," adding, "Polls show most Americans do not want young children to undergo gender transition surgeries and do not want men participating in women's sports."