MEMPHIS, Tennessee, March 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump evoked Jesus on Monday to urge Republicans in Congress to work through the upcoming Easter holiday in a bid to pass a voter identification bill that Democrats strongly oppose.
Trump said the voting bill should be included in any agreement to fund the Homeland Security department, which has been partially shut down since February 13 after Democrats demanded reforms to immigration enforcement.
“I’m requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately. You don’t have to take a fast vote. Don’t worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus,” Trump told a roundtable event in Memphis, Tennessee.
Lawmakers are due to take a two-week Easter recess starting at the end of this week.
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, told reporters that the Senate should deal with Department of Homeland Security funding as the most pressing matter.
Amid Trump’s demands for Senate passage of the “SAVE America” bill that would significantly change the way federal elections are conducted by states, Thune has noted the difficulty in getting enough support in the Senate to pass that measure.
He also has resisted Trump’s calls for eliminating the “filibuster” rule in the Senate so that Republicans can advance legislation without any support from Democrats.
The lack of DHS funds means tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration personnel have worked without pay for five weeks, leading some airport security workers to call in sick or quit entirely.
The voting bill would require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID for casting ballots. The bill currently lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Ryan Patrick Jones and Richard Cowan; Editing by David Ljunggren and Alistair Bell)
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