Washington, July 23 (IANS) US President Donald Trump is losing patience with Senate Republicans over delays in advancing his election integrity legislation, the White House said on Thursday, urging lawmakers to send the measure to his desk before the August recess.
Speaking at the daily White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wants the Senate to act quickly after the House approved budget legislation containing key provisions of the SAVE America Act.
“The president spoke about this directly yesterday,” Leavitt said. “His patience is running out.”
She said Trump wants “to see as much of the Save America passed as possible by the August recess” and believes the legislation reflects the wishes of American voters.
“He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed,” she said.
Leavitt said Trump had highlighted the issue during a campaign-style event on Wednesday, where she said his call for voter identification received strong public support.
“He was just travelling on the road yesterday, spoke about this, and there was a very loud applause from the people in the audience, the everyday Americans, because voter ID is common sense,” she said.
“They want proof of citizenship in our elections and the president feels very strongly about that.”
The White House argued that Republicans were elected with a mandate to tighten election rules and said the Senate should now move forward.
“The American people elected overwhelmingly Republicans to lead not just this White House, but also the House and the Senate,” Leavitt said.
“The House did its job. The Senate needs to do its job, too.”
The issue resurfaced later in the briefing when Leavitt was asked about reports that New Jersey had identified thousands of non-citizens on its voter rolls and whether election officials could face prosecution.
While declining to discuss potential legal action, she said questions about prosecutions should be directed to the Justice Department.
“For any prosecutions, obviously, I would always defer you to the Department of Justice,” she said.
However, Leavitt welcomed what she described as New Jersey’s acknowledgement that non-citizens had appeared on voter rolls.
“The fact that she just all of a sudden decided to put out a press release saying President Trump and Republicans have been right about non-citizens on our voting rolls is not a coincidence,” she said.
According to Leavitt, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has asked several states, including New Jersey, to identify non-citizens registered to vote and remove them from voter rolls.
“It is completely unacceptable to have non-citizens on American voter rolls voting in US elections,” she said.
Referring to New Jersey’s reported figure, Leavitt added: “She says it’s 6,600. We suspect it’s a heck of a lot more, not just in New Jersey, but in states across the country.”
She said passage of the SAVE America Act remained a top administration priority.
“It’s of the utmost importance to this president, but also to the American people who support this bill overwhelmingly,” she said.
The White House also defended Republican efforts to keep the federal government funded during negotiations over spending legislation.
Asked about funding talks, Leavitt said, “The government’s stance is that the government needs to be funded.”
She accused Democrats of obstructing Republican efforts to avoid a shutdown, saying the administration wanted “the government to remain open” while discussions with Senate leaders continued.
–IANS
lkj/ksk/dan
