Senate Republicans opened debate today on the SAVE America Act. While discussions continue over whether the bill will be further modified, the outcome isn't in doubt: the legislation will not pass.

Why it matters: GOP leaders insist the open-ended debate will allow them to spotlight election fraud and draw attention to President Trump's proposed solutions.

• 💥 But on day one, their internal divisions were already on display.
• 📫 At their weekly lunch, several senators took aim at one of Trump's key changes to the House-passed bill — new restrictions on mail-in ballots.
• Still, senators made progress on that issue and said they would work with the White House to address senators' concerns.

"I feel very comfortable where things are at, but always willing to work with people," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told Axios.

• "We have to clamp down on this mass mail-in balloting scam," he added.

Driving the news: The process began this afternoon when the Senate voted 51-48 to advance the SAVE America Act past a procedural hurdle.

• Democrats, as expected, voted against it. They were joined by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
• The legislation also would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote, and would ban transition surgeries for transgender minors.
• To end debate, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will need 60 votes — a threshold he has acknowledged he will not reach.

Zoom out: Democrats framed the effort as voter suppression, arguing Trump and Thune were collaborating to restrict access to the ballot.

• "Twenty million — maybe more — people will be told when they show up to vote, 'You're off the rolls,'" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. "That's the problem with the bill."

🔎 Zoom in: For some Republicans — even staunch opponents of the 60-vote filibuster — simply debating and amending a bill on the floor will be a win.

• But there are potential divisions, including around Trump-backed provisions on banning transgender athletes from women's sports and restricting gender-affirming care for minors.
• "Those were concerns raised," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said following the GOP lunch. "I haven't made up my mind … maybe they are too onerous. Let's have that discussion."

⏰ The bottom line: Senators were reluctant to put a timeline on how long the debate would last, though most suggested it could stretch to about a week.

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— Hans Nichols

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is launching a Hail Mary push to effectively end the Department of Homeland Security's now-monthlong shutdown by funding all of its sub-agencies except ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

🔥 Why it matters: Democrats are feeling the heat as federal workers miss paychecks and DHS warns of airport closures. They hope their planned discharge petition will, at the very least, deflect blame onto Republicans.

• Jeffries and Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) made the case today at a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting for members to sign on to the discharge petition, according to lawmakers who were present.
• ✍️ If they're able to compile the needed 218 signatures — a long shot — they could force a vote on a bill to fund the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard and other non-immigration DHS agencies.

Jeffries argued the plan "doesn't give up any leverage," said one House Democrat.

• He also said it has the potential to "reveal that the Republicans are willing to hold out on DHS in order to die on the hill of protecting the president's mass deportation campaign."
• This plan would effectively end the DHS shutdown altogether, as the White House is keeping ICE and CBP funded with the more than $100 billion made available to the agencies in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

💬 What they're saying: Most House Democrats whom we spoke to today said they plan to sign on to the discharge petition, including the chairs of their largest ideological caucuses.

Reality check: Democrats need four Republican signatures to force a vote, and centrist Republicans say they see no need to join the effort after the House repeatedly passed GOP bills to fund the whole department.

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— Andrew Solender

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is doubling down on his Alaska bet with a new ad campaign targeting Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) — in part over the recent spike in gas prices.

Why it matters: Alaska is quickly emerging as a tactical 2026 Senate battlefield as both parties look for opportunities to spend big in a state with a tiny population.

🚘 Driving the news: Majority Forward, a 501(c)(4) organization associated with Schumer, is up with a mid-six-figure ad buy hitting Sullivan on high prices for consumer goods, including gasoline, in Alaska.

• "Costs are higher than ever. But Dan Sullivan keeps voting yes with his party leaders, no matter how much it hurts Alaska," the narrator in the 30-second ad says.
• ⛽️ The average price of gasoline is $4.23 in Alaska, up about 70 cents from a month ago, before the U.S. struck Iran, according to AAA.
• Most of the negative Senate ads that have run so far in the state this cycle have been sponsored by Majority Forward.

Zoom in: Republicans are also spending aggressively in the state, with Last Frontier Action, another 501(c)(4), launching a digital ad last month casting Sullivan in a positive light.

The bottom line: It's hard to spend much money in an Alaska Senate race.

• But both parties are testing that proposition.

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— Hans Nichols