Trump's SAVE Act, government shutdown and Iran war dominate weekend political news

Trump's SAVE Act, government shutdown and Iran war dominate weekend political news

The U.S. Senate is holding a rare weekend session to debate President Donald Trumps'' SAVE Act, a sweeping voter reform bill. The president said he will not sign other legislation until the SAVE Act passes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate is holding a rare weekend session to debate President Donald Trump's SAVE Act, a sweeping voter reform bill. 

The president said he will not sign other legislation until the SAVE Act passes.

The SAVE Act 

The bill would require Americans to show a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, present a photo ID at the polls, and prove citizenship in person before receiving a mail-in ballot. 

States would also, in some cases, be required to hand over their voter registration rolls to the federal government.

Despite Trump's push, the bill faces long odds. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he will not eliminate the filibuster to advance it.

What they're saying:

Nolan Higdon, a political history professor at UC Santa Cruz, said the bill's prospects are dim even among Republicans.

"I don't think a lot of Republicans will say it publicly, but I don't think they're too excited about it," Higdon said, adding that provisions targeting mail-in voting could hurt the GOP's own voters. "This would create all sorts of disaster," he said, noting the midterm elections are only months away and that states could be forced to hold state and federal elections separately if new rules could not be implemented in time.

ICE agents at airports

Also drawing attention this weekend, border czar Tom Homan announced that ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports amid the ongoing stalemate over Homeland Security and TSA funding during the government shutdown.

Deliberate moves:

Higdon said the move appeared designed to show strength on immigration — one of Trump's signature issues — while also signaling the administration is responding to political fallout from the shutdown.

"I think this is a move he's trying to show that he's taking care of the TSA," Higdon said.

What travelers can expect remains unclear. 

Higdon cautioned that the announcement, made via social media, lacked specifics, and that people with contested immigration status may avoid travel as a result.

War with Iran

Meanwhile, the U.S. conflict with Iran is entering its fourth week.

Public opinion:

A new Reuters poll found that about 65% of Americans believe Trump will eventually send large-scale ground troops to Iran — though only 7% support that idea.

With Marines already being deployed to the region, Higdon said the trajectory is concerning.

"Traditionally, when presidents make moves like this, they're getting set for a ground invasion," he said. 

He added that the Trump administration made a significant political miscalculation by failing to build public support for the conflict from the start, making it harder to justify further escalation heading into a midterm election year.