House Republicans will continue working to get the SAVE America Act approved by Congress after returning from the July Fourth holiday recess, Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., told Newsmax on Thursday.
Appearing on "Wake Up America Early," McGuire said House Republicans remain committed to advancing election integrity legislation despite procedural setbacks that stalled an effort to link the SAVE America Act to the annual National Defense Authorization Act.
McGuire defended House Speaker Mike Johnson's efforts to move the measure, saying Republicans have repeatedly approved the legislation while encountering resistance in the Senate.
"If you put all Americans in a room and asked, 'Should U.S. citizens only vote in U.S. elections?' I think they'd all agree," McGuire told host Alex Kraemer. "You have to have a photo ID to get on an airplane, buy medicine, and everything else."
The Virginia Republican said Johnson reminded him the House has now passed the legislation three times across the current and previous Congresses, but Senate Democrats have prevented it from advancing.
"We've got to have election integrity," McGuire said. "We're trying everything."
An effort this week to package the SAVE America Act with the NDAA collapsed after a House procedural rule failed to win enough Republican support.
Several conservative lawmakers opposed the rule, arguing the voting measure should be directly attached to the defense bill before it is sent to the Senate.
More than a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in defeating the procedural vote after concluding Johnson's proposed path would not ensure Senate consideration of the election bill.
Johnson has also said portions of the legislation could be included in a separate budget package.
McGuire acknowledged frustration with divisions inside the Republican conference but said the larger obstacle remains the Senate.
"As a Navy SEAL veteran, we're all about teamwork," he said. "We need to be rowing in the same direction."
He praised Johnson's leadership, arguing the speaker has delivered major legislative victories despite the GOP's narrow House majority.
"We're going to keep working at it," McGuire said. "We get back to work on the 13th, and hopefully, we can get the U.S. Senate to realize that this is very important."
The congressman also briefly addressed U.S.-Iran negotiations, saying he remains cautious about any agreement with Tehran despite expressing confidence in President Donald Trump's negotiating team.
"I'm hopeful, but ... these folks, the Iranian regime that's in power right now, you remember they killed 40,000 of their own citizens in the streets for protesting and they are the No. 1 state sponsor of terror for about 50 years. So I don't trust them," McGuire said.
"I do trust the president and this administration. They have a great team, and we just keep fighting. We're going to figure it out."
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