Johnson said he believes Trump ‘understands’ House GOP doesn’t have the votes to pass SAVE Act

By Annie Grayer and Danya Gainor, CNN

Washington (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson believes President Donald Trump understands that House Republicans do not have the votes to pass the SAVE Act, following a private meeting between the two men on Thursday night.

Publicly, the former president has called on Republicans to shut down the government if they could not attach the controversial measure targeting non-citizen voting to government funding.

“Look, President Trump fully understands the situation, he understands our margins and he’s frustrated as I am that we couldn’t get that done in the original play, but we go back to the play” Johnson said. “But, we go back to the playbook, we’ll have a Plan B, we’re having thoughtful conversations developing that. I’m sure it will come together over the weekend.”

The SAVE Act is a GOP-led bill that passed the House on a standalone basis in July and would require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, despite the fact that is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. The House failed on Wednesday to pass a six-month GOP government funding plan that included the controversial measure.

Asked specifically if Trump wants Johnson to shut the government down over this issue, Johnson said, “Look, President Trump understands our dilemma. He wants election security as I do. We’re going to use every opportunity, every measure, every platform we have to press that.”

Separately, Johnson said he spent “a lot of time” with Trump.

Government funding is slated to run out at the end of the month.

When asked about USSS acting Director Ronald Rowe announcing the agency is in moving to its accountability phase in its investigation into the most recent assassination attempt of the former president, Johnson said, “We certainly hope that is true. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure it is.”

The speaker said, “We’ll wait and see,” when asked if he thinks the USSS can hold people accountable.

“I certainly hope so,” Johnson said. “We need Donald Trump to have the same level as protection as a sitting president does.”

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