2026 State of the Union: What Trump stated in regards to the SAVE Act

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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump gave a really lengthy State of the Union speech final night time, clocking in at a report one hour and 48 minutes.

You possibly can match loads into practically two hours — however, my colleague Zack Beauchamp argues , you solely actually wanted to listen to one line: Trump’s assault on Democrats opposing the SAVE Act.

What's the SAVE Act? If handed, the SAVE Act — quick for “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” — would make important adjustments to US elections by tightening voter ID necessities, requiring proof of citizenship to register, and ending voter registration solely by mail.

What did Trump say on Tuesday? He accused Democrats, who overwhelmingly oppose the SAVE Act, of “need[ing] to cheat” in elections.

“[The Democrats’] coverage is so dangerous that the one method they will get elected is to cheat,” he stated. “We’re going to cease it. We have now to cease it.”

What’s the massive image? Voter fraud, opposite to what Trump and the GOP declare, is just not rampant within the US. In truth, there’s no proof it’s a serious difficulty in any respect. However the sort of extra voter ID necessities the SAVE Act proposes would create new administrative limitations to voting that would successfully disenfranchise many Individuals.

Why does this matter? The SAVE Act itself is just not a five-alarm hearth: Not solely does it have a tough, unlikely path to passage within the Senate, however, as Zack points out , it doesn’t truly appear to be it will accomplish what Trump claims. (Certainly, it’s not clear that stricter voter ID necessities would profit Republicans in any respect.)

As a substitute, Zack argues, the priority is in what Trump thinks he’d be carrying out: “Taken actually,” he writes, Trump’s speech “is the president saying that the said coverage of his administration is stopping the opposition from profitable any future election.”

You possibly can learn Zack’s full story on the Vox website here .

And with that, it’s time to sign off…

It’s a giant week on Capitol Hill: After the SOTU final night time, right this moment is the annual Bipawtisan Dog Parade (considerably delayed from its regular October date by final yr’s prolonged authorities shutdown, and themed for Mardi Gras as an alternative). I particularly loved this photo from NOTUS reporter Em Luetkemeyer. Have a terrific night, and we’ll see you again right here tomorrow!