Republican senators unveiled legislation Monday to unfreeze Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit, while lawmakers continued to say they lacked the necessary 60 votes to pass the SAVE America Act.
Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and John Cornyn of Texas introduced the Seized Assets for Battlefield Equipment and Readiness (SABER) Act to allow Ukraine to purchase military equipment using assets confiscated from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, many Republican senators argued they didn’t have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and provide voter identification at the ballot box.
“I’m cosponsoring a new bill 2 help Ukraine as they continue 2 defend against attacks from Putin. Importantly this support comes at NO COST 2 taxpayers,” Grassley said Tuesday.
The legislation was cosponsored by Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Republican South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson sponsored the bill in the House.
Grassley’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated the SAVE Act lacked the votes to pass. Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy made the same argument to reporters Monday, arguing it is “time to talk about something else.”
“I’m a co-sponsor, but it doesn’t have the votes, and so it’s time to talk about something else,” Cassidy said.
Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee argued that Cassidy’s statement could apply to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on Americans’ data without a warrant.
Thune and Cassidy voted for other Ukraine aid packages, including a $95 billion emergency spending bill to fund Ukraine in February 2024. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell championed support for Ukraine and voted against advancing the SAVE America Act, though McConnell was slated to miss votes due to a medical issue.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined McConnell in voting against adding the measure to the Secure America Act, an immigration enforcement funding package that President Donald Trump signed into law on June 10. Trump threatened in a June 17 Truth Social post to oppose reauthorizing Section 702 if the SAVE America Act was not attached to it.
Collins, Murkowski and Tillis were among the Republican senators who voted in favor of the $95 billion spending package. Collins expressed support for the SAVE America Act in February, though she opposed eliminating the filibuster to pass it.
Tillis said Tuesday that senators were “wasting time” on the SAVE Act since it is “going nowhere.”
The SAVE America Act passed the House on April 10 in a 220 to 208 vote. Trump pressured Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, though Thune argued against eliminating it.
“If we get rid of the filibuster and the Democrats get the majority, you’ll add Puerto Rico and DC as states, you will expand and pack the Supreme Court, you will federalize our elections, you will have abortion on demand, you will have trillions of dollars in new taxes, and we will own that,” Thune told reporters Thursday.
Eighteen House Republicans voted with Democrats on June 5 to send more aid to Ukraine and provide weapons from Pentagon stockpiles, even though Speaker Mike Johnson urged his colleagues to vote against the legislation. These congressmen included Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Glenn Thompson of Ohio.
A Politico poll from May 7 found 75% of Trump voters and 52% of Americans overall support requiring proof of citizenship before voting.
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