With just over 100 days until the November midterms, President Trump is once again turning up the heat on his own party. Over the weekend, he took to Truth Social with a message aimed squarely at Senate Majority Leader John Thune and every other Republican still on the fence: terminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, along with the budget and the debt ceiling, “before it is too late.”

It’s not the first time Trump has made this demand — he’s been pushing it for months, in speeches, in his State of the Union address, and in a steady drumbeat of Truth Social posts. But this time, he has fresh ammunition.

The New Jersey Admission

Just days before Trump’s latest post, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill — a Democrat — confirmed something her party has downplayed for years: roughly 6,600 non-citizens were registered to vote in the state due to a software error at the Motor Vehicle Commission, and nearly 400 of them actually cast ballots in past elections. Sherrill blamed the error on a vendor glitch under her predecessor, former Gov. Phil Murphy, and said the state is working to remove the improper registrations.

For years, Democrats and much of the media insisted large-scale non-citizen registration simply didn’t happen — that it was a right-wing talking point with no basis in fact. New Jersey’s own governor just confirmed otherwise. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson didn’t waste the opening: “Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot,” she said. “Time and again, they have been proven wrong.”

To be fair, New Jersey’s numbers are small relative to the state’s overall electorate — Sherrill and other Democrats have pointed out that 400 improper votes, scattered across parties, is a tiny fraction of the millions cast statewide, and there’s no evidence any race was decided by them. But for Trump and SAVE Act supporters, the size of the number isn’t the point — the fact that it happened at all, in a state that swore it couldn’t, is.

What the SAVE Act Would Actually Do

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — passed by the House back in February — would require proof of citizenship to register for federal elections and valid photo ID to cast a ballot nationwide. Supporters argue it’s a common-sense standard: Americans already show ID to board a flight, buy alcohol, or pick up a prescription, so why not to vote in a federal election? Polling has consistently shown broad public support for voter ID requirements, cutting across party lines.

But the bill has been stuck in the Senate for months, unable to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. That’s what’s driving Trump’s frustration — and his increasingly blunt threats to withhold his signature from other legislation, including a bipartisan housing bill, until the SAVE Act moves.

A Fight Inside the GOP, Not Just Against Democrats

Here’s the twist: the biggest obstacle isn’t just Senate Democrats, who remain united against the bill. It’s also a chunk of Trump’s own party. Thune has repeatedly said Republicans simply don’t have the votes to eliminate the filibuster, and several senators — mindful that Democrats could someday hold the majority and use the same tool against them — have resisted going that far. Sen. Mike Lee has instead floated forcing a “talking filibuster,” requiring opponents to hold the floor in person rather than block the bill quietly.

Trump has made clear he sees this as more than a policy dispute — in his view, it’s existential. He’s warned that if Republicans don’t act now, they may not get another chance, particularly with prediction markets showing Democrats favored to retake the Senate in this year’s midterms.

With the shutdown fight, the budget, and the debt ceiling all converging on Capitol Hill at once, some Trump allies are pushing to attach the SAVE Act to must-pass legislation — a way to force a vote without a standalone fight over the filibuster itself. Whether that strategy works, or whether Thune continues to hold the line, is likely to be one of the defining Senate battles of the summer.

For now, the message from the White House is unchanged: the New Jersey story proves the threat is real, the clock is ticking toward November, and it’s time for Senate Republicans to decide whether they’re going to act on it.