Rep Anna Paulina Luna Reveals How Election Bill Democrats Hate Might Have Fighting Chance Of Passage

Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News she thinks there is chance the Senate can pass the SAVE America Act — despite fierce Democratic opposition — if the GOP is willing to use a little-known tactic.

Luna, a leading proponent of the election integrity bill in the House, said on “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo” that Senate Majority Leader John Thune needs to bring the SAVE America Act to the upper chamber’s floor “immediately.” She also said the GOP Senate majority should not be afraid to  force Democrats into a “talking filibuster” of the bill, an unorthodox strategy some Republicans lawmakers believe could allow the legislation to pass with a simple majority instead of the usual 60-vote filibuster threshold.

“Look, I think right now America has made their voices very clear. They want voter ID,” Luna told host Maria Bartiromo. The SAVE Act, which the GOP-controlled House passed with just one Democratic vote Wednesday, would require photo ID to vote nationwide as well as proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

“Thune needs to bring it [the SAVE Act] to the floor and it needs to happen immediately,” she emphasized.

“And I really will take a second to commend Senator [Susan] Collins. She was the 50th representative to sign onto this and that is a massive piece of legislation,” the congresswoman added, referring to the moderate GOP lawmaker from Maine and frequent swing vote coming out in support of the bill Friday. “So, I’m going to be personally sending her 50 roses for Valentine’s Day because she’s America’s valentine for that.”

“But moving forward, look, Sen. Thune has every ability to bring the ‘standing filibuster’ to the floor,” Luna added, using another term for the “talking filibuster.”

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“I know he [Thune] famously came out, maybe a few days ago, and said that they might not have the time to do,” Luna said, referring to a remark the Senate majority leader made to an NBC News reporter Tuesday.

“I would actually argue that this is probably the number one thing especially moving into the midterms,” Luna continued. “Many senators have said if we do this, the Democrats are going to do this when they regain power. But the fact is, Maria, is that the Senate Democrats have made it very clear that they want mass amnesty, they want mass naturalization of illegals, and, frankly, I think they’re going to do it anyway.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN on Sunday his Democratic caucus will oppose the SAVE Act “tooth and nail,” adding that the election integrity legislation is “like Jim Crow 2.0.”

If Thune and Republicans force Democratic senators into a “talking filibuster” of the SAVE Act, Schumer’s caucus would be physically required to continually make long speeches to hold the Senate floor in order to derail the bill, a potentially lengthy process which could last weeks and take time away from other legislative priorities. This marks a stark departure from the usually “silent filibuster” which simply causes a bill to die in the Senate if it fails to reach 60 votes.

Several conservative senators have already signaled their support for forcing Democrats into this course of action.

“I’m a fan of the talking filibuster … especially as Democrats have proven more and more obstructionist,” Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said, POLITICO reported Tuesday.

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee has particularly been a staunch advocate of using this tactic for the upper chamber to pass the SAVE Act, expressing support for a “talking filibuster” gambit throughout February.

If we, as Republicans in Congress, don’t do our part, we can’t assume our Republican base will show up in November; @ScottPresler is right!

If we pass the SAVE America Act, our base will show up

To do that, we have to enforce the talking filibuster in the Senate pic.twitter.com/U0qxGu6kQo

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 15, 2026

“So, the only way to really secure our country for future generations is to ensure that Americans have faith in the voting process and that, if their senators work against their interests, that they can vote them out at the ballot box, and that is exactly what this will do,” Luna added during her Fox News appearance. “So, I am frankly behind every senator that is for the voter ID.”

The congresswoman also noted she thinks Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a maverick who often breaks with his party, will ultimately “likely vote” for the SAVE Act. Fetterman told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns on Friday he opposes the bill, but added that he still does not support Democrats’ hardline opposition to voter ID.

“But look, I mean this ‘talking filibuster’ has never been used,” Bartiromo pressed Luna.

The congresswoman then pointed out tthe “‘talking filibuster’ was actually how the filibuster did work historically and then it became this kind of perversion of what it’s currently known as.”

“And I would say, look Maria, you have only a few jobs in Congress one to argue your ideas and the others to vote. And so, if they’re saying that you know it’s all these procedure hurdles and they have to allocate time for it, and they might not have the ability to do that debate, I would say, ‘Look you’re in the Senate, it’s a wonderful job, it’s a privilege and you should get to it,” she continued. “And so I would say that they need to actually embrace with the filibuster was, get back to what it traditionally stood for.”

“And I think that every single member of the House and Senate that debates this issue will see that the American people bipartisanly want this, even Democrats,” Luna said.

A Pew Research Center survey from August 2025 found 83% of Americans, including 71% of Democrats, support requiring “all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.”