Trump Tells Republicans to Shut Down the Government Over Election Fraud B.S.

The former president wants Republicans to attach a voter suppression bill to September’s negotiation over the federal budget

The August recess has ended, and Congress has less than a month to pass legislation to fund the federal government or plunge the nation into a shutdown. It’s already getting ugly.

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump demanded that “If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET.”

For days now, the former president — who falsely maintains that the 2020 election was stolen from him — has been promoting unsourced claims of election fraud in 2024 early voting on his social media.

Earlier this week, Trump promoted unsubstantiated claims that Arizona, a key 2024 battleground state, is allowing non-citizens to remain on the state’s voter rolls. He also repeated meritless claims that “20% of the Mail-In Ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent.”

“Here we go again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Where is the U.S. Attorney General and FBI to INVESTIGATE? Where is the Pennsylvania Republican Party? We will WIN Pennsylvania by a lot, unless the Dems are allowed to CHEAT. THE RNC MUST ACTIVATE, NOW!!!”

Amid his preemptive efforts to sow doubt about the election, Trump is demanding that Republicans secure passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), or shut down the federal government. The SAVE Act, which passed a vote in the House in July but has not been taken up by the Senate, would require Americans to provide documented proof of citizenship — such as a passport or birth certificate — in order to register to vote.

The law would create a massive hurdle for voters, who in many states are already required to jump thr