As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up President Donald Trump’s SAVE Act, which critics charge is a voter suppression bill, he has issued his harshest threat yet against any lawmaker who votes against it.

The SAVE Act would require documentary proof of citizenship, typically a passport or certified birth certificate, to register to vote. Voting rights groups say it would effectively disenfranchise millions of Americans who do not have the time or funds to obtain the necessary documents. It could make voting difficult for married people who changed their names but not their voter registration records. Some estimates say more than 140 million Americans do not have a valid passport and millions do not have access to a certified copy of their birth certificates.

Trump declared on Tuesday that anyone who votes against the bill is “sick, demented, or deranged.” He threatened that any “no” vote would be the end of any endorsement he might make on their behalf going forward.

If they vote no, “each one of these points, separately, will be used against the user in his/her political campaign for office – A guaranteed loss!”

READ MORE: ‘He Was the Only One’: Trump Mocked for Declaring Iran’s Moves ‘Shocked’ Him

Calling the bill “one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself,” Trump wrote: “NO MORE RIGGED ELECTIONS! Voter I.D., Proof of Citizenship, No Rigged Mail-In Voting (We are the only Country in the World that allows this!), No Men in Women’s Sports, No Transgender MUTILIZATION of our Children. 90% to 99% ISSUES ALL!”

Numerous nations around the world allow mail-in voting. Courts have found no evidence that the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost, was “rigged.”

Trump has repeatedly stated that if the SAVE Act is signed into law, Republicans will never lose another race in the next 50 years.

According to Politico, the SAVE Act “is likely doomed thanks to bipartisan opposition and the GOP conference’s desire to protect the filibuster.”

But a Trump Super PAC is sitting on a $300 million war chest, which could be deployed to primary Republicans who oppose the president’s top agenda item.

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President Donald Trump is facing criticism and mockery after admitting he was “shocked” that Iran fought back against Operation Epic Fury.

“Trump just admitted publicly that his administration underestimated the Iranian response to his attack,” The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported.

During a meeting of the board governing the Kennedy Center, Trump said, “look what happened. In the last two weeks, they weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

Focusing on Trump’s “shocked” remark, some critics blasted the president, once again, for what many have previously said is a Commander-in-Chief who was unprepared to go to war against Iran.

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser called Trump’s comments a “Remarkable admission.”

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Former Republican U.S. Rep. Justin Amash declared, “We are governed by complete morons.”

Podcaster Clint Russell noted, “Just FYI, this is the EXACT reason our generals have consistently advised against a war with Iran. Even Charlie Kirk had laid this all out on his show a couple years ago. Iran was no threat to America but they were fully capable of destroying the global economy by striking oil facilities and transit throughout the region.”

Robert Manning, a Distinguished Fellow in Global Foresight at the nonpartisan Stimson Center, wrote: “If so, he was the only one surprised. Strategic planners have war games this for 40 years. Hard to believe JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] didn’t advise Trump this was likely.”

“I’m pretty confident every war plan US has ever done in last 30 years gaming out this conflict was based on expectation that Iran could in fact [and] would in fact do this,” noted The Nation’s Jeet Heer.

“Every institution built to prevent exactly this outcome existed, was bypassed, and we are now watching the president express shock at conclusions that were already written in the classified assessments he didn’t read,” observed Christine Villaverde, the chairwoman of Anchoring Democracy.

Trump: They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked pic.twitter.com/4bAHIat1kI

— Acyn (@Acyn) March 16, 2026

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A prominent Republican senator is denouncing his own party while lamenting the lack of an official presidential endorsement in the highly contentious Texas Republican Senate runoff election.

Agreeing that it is a mistake for President Donald Trump to withhold his endorsement of either Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned, “I think the more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican-on-Republican violence, Democrats are in the marketing department, loving the idea of a competitive runoff.”

“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, appearing to suggest there are other ways for one of the candidates to pull ahead.

“People on my side of the aisle, and people at the far right of the political spectrum, are trying to swing for the fences, and they’re not gonna succeed,” he warned.

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A runoff election between Cornyn and Paxton will take place on May 26, and the president has yet to endorse either contender.

Reports suggest a Cornyn endorsement is more likely, although Paxton has been a reliable MAGA supporter. Trump has even suggested that whichever candidate does not get his backing should quit the race entirely, clearing the way for the presumptive nominee to battle the Democratic nominee, James Talarico.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, on March 4, “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”

He vowed to make his endorsement “soon,” but has yet to do so.

Each passing day gives Talarico more time to campaign and build his war chest as the two GOP contenders spend their time and money battling each other.

Thom Tillis says it’s mistake for Trump to withold endorsement in #txsen over Save Act, rails on intraparty feud

“The more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican on Republican violence, Democrats” will benefit.

“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic.” pic.twitter.com/KpH7LYoqNE

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 16, 2026

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Image via Reuters