Trump urges GOP to skip Easter recess in push for SAVE America Act

WASHINGTON, DC: Recently, President Donald Trump requested Republican lawmakers to work during the upcoming Easter vacation, mentioning Jesus trying to enact a voter-identification law that Democrats greatly oppose.

Trump proposed that the voting bill would be contingent on an agreement that would fund the Homeland Security agency, which has been partially shut down since February 13, following demands by Democrats to reform immigration enforcement.

Trump’s ardent request to senators

Donald Trump requested Republican lawmakers tie a voter-identification bill to any agreement funding the Homeland Security department, suggesting they work through the upcoming Easter holiday.

"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 begin a two-week Easter recess at the end of this week.

However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, dismissed the notion of combining Department of Homeland Security funding with the voter identification bill.

Issues over DHS and SAVE Act discussed

Thune said he hoped that before the end of the week, there could be a path toward passage of the DHS measure.

"I think you all know that's not realistic," Thune told reporters, referring to there being enough Senate opposition to the bill to sink it.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, in a Senate speech, said Trump was "trying to sabotage negotiations, demanding that talks stop entirely until Congress passes the SAVE Act."

There were still thorny issues to be resolved on the DHS funding bill.

Democrats have been pushing to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents get judicial warrants before entering private property.

"I'm not sure how you solve that one," Thune said of the demand.

"People have to be able to do their jobs. And the use of administrative warrants has been a practice that's been around for a long time," Thune said.

Administrative warrants have not normally been used to forcibly enter private homes.

Thune 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 absence of DHS funding has caused tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers to work unpaid over the past five weeks, which has caused some workers at the airport to call in sick or simply resign.

The voting bill would include registering to vote and voting with a photo ID and evidence of US citizenship. The bill would still require 60 votes to get over the Democratic objections in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans have only 53 seats.