House Republicans Take Secret Camp David Retreat to Launch Reconciliation 3.0, With SAVE America Act Along for the Ride

Since Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News Sunday on July 6 that the House would pass the SAVE America Act "one more time" through budget reconciliation, House GOP leadership has moved from talk to action. A select group of House Budget Committee Republicans were summoned to Camp David on Sunday for what three GOP staffers described to the Daily Signal as a "last minute" and "mostly unstaffed" meeting on Reconciliation 3.0.

According to the Daily Signal, the invited members met first at the White House Sunday afternoon, had their phones taken, and boarded a bus for a two-hour drive to Camp David. Attendees reportedly included Reps. Brandon Gill and Chip Roy of Texas, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, and Mike Carey of Ohio, along with White House officials and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Reps. Erin Houchin of Indiana and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma did not attend. Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington was set to brief the full committee Monday night.

"We were a little caught off guard by it," one source familiar with the meeting told the Daily Signal. Whether Trump himself attended remains unconfirmed. A Camp David visit was not on his public schedule, and Secret Service could not confirm meeting protocols to the Daily Signal.

Johnson announced that the Budget Committee will begin markup of a budget resolution Wednesday, calling it the start of legislation covering the nation's "most immediate priorities." Trump has publicly called the package "must pass."

What's in it

According to Miller & Chevalier's tax alert, Trump wants Reconciliation 3.0 to deliver a $350 billion boost in military funding alongside the SAVE America Act's election provisions. Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith has said any third bill must include tax provisions. Johnson has framed the package around "waste, fraud, and abuse," with Vice President JD Vance coordinating between the White House and congressional leadership.

But Senate Republicans are not aligned. Majority Leader John Thune said on June 10 that a third reconciliation bill would need to hit 218 votes in the House and 50 in the Senate, and that any package would be "centered" on military funding, not voting law. Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last month it's "safe to conclude" another reconciliation bill isn't happening, and Senator Susan Collins warned against relying on reconciliation to deliver defense money outside the normal appropriations process.

The SAVE America Act problem

The SAVE America Act would require photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and would largely eliminate mail-in ballots except for illness, disability, military deployment, or travel. It passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster, and according to Democracy Docket, it may lack even a simple majority.

Supporters have a straightforward case: requiring ID to vote is a mainstream position, and IDs are already required for banking, air travel, and countless other everyday transactions. Backers like Rep. Chip Roy argue federal elections should run on uniform rules regardless of which party controls a state, and Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris told the Daily Signal that codifying Trump's border and election policies into law prevents a future administration from reversing them "with a single pen stroke."

Critics, including Democracy Docket, call the bill the most restrictive voting legislation Congress has ever considered, arguing it could strip millions of Republicans and Democrats alike of the ability to vote if they lack citizenship documents or photo ID on hand. No verified evidence of widespread voter fraud appears in any of the reporting reviewed here. Trump has repeatedly cited fraud as the bill's justification without documented cases attached to that claim in these sources.

The reconciliation route itself faces a structural problem separate from the politics. Senate rules under the Byrd Rule restrict reconciliation bills to matters with a direct federal budgetary effect, and CBS News reported that election policy provisions have already been targeted for removal once, when hardliners tried inserting SAVE America language into the National Defense Authorization Act in late June. That maneuver, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, failed on a procedural vote. Fourteen Republicans opposed it, forcing Johnson to send the House home early for the Fourth of July recess.

Two narrower House bills, from Reps. Bryan Steil and Julie Fedorchak, would attach federal grant funding to state voter ID and REAL ID programs. A structure some Republicans believe could survive the Senate's budget rules where the full SAVE America Act cannot. Don Palmer of the Heritage Foundation told the Daily Signal that REAL ID infrastructure grants could help states verify citizenship electronically for voter rolls.

The Budget Committee's markup Wednesday will be the first real test of whether any of this survives contact with the Senate parliamentarian. Thune has not committed to bringing election provisions to the floor, and with roughly two weeks of legislative days left before the House's summer recess, according to Miller & Chevalier, Republicans are running out of runway to get a bill to Trump's desk before midterm campaigning consumes the calendar.