Senate Republicans’ last-minute  SAVE Act rewrite includes anti-transgender provisions

Senate Republicans have unveiled a comprehensive amendment package to the SAVE America Act that combines new federal voting restrictions with policies targeting transgender people. It comes after President Donald Trump has insisted that the provisions be added and the bill passed.

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Offered as a substitute amendment, the proposal, obtained by Punchbowl News on Tuesday evening, reorganizes the legislation into three sections: elections, sports, and what it calls protections for children.

The election provisions would require Americans to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections, a change to current law. Voting by noncitizens is already illegal under federal law, and documented cases are rare. The proposal would also require photo identification to vote and limit mail voting, requiring most ballots to be cast in person and restricting absentee voting to specific circumstances such as illness, disability, or verified travel.

Related: Donald Trump refuses to sign new laws until SAVE Act voting bill passes with added anti-trans provisions

Related: Trump’s anti-trans SAVE Act saves no one and threatens everyone

Related: How the Republicans’ SAVE America Act will disenfranchise married & LGBTQ+ Americans

The amendment would also direct states to compare voter rolls with federal immigration databases and remove people identified as noncitizens, while requiring federal agencies to share data to support those checks.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) speaks with reporters after a closed briefing in the U.S. Capitol Building on December 17, 2025, in Washington, DC. Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Other sections of the package include unrelated culture war issues that focus on transgender people. One provision would bar transgender women and girls from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity, stating that it would be a violation of federal law to allow “a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls,” and defining sex “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

Another section would create federal criminal penalties for gender-affirming care, or what the bill falsely describes as “genital and bodily mutilation of a minor” and “chemical castration of a minor.”

LGBTQ+ advocates sharply criticized the proposal.

“It’s no surprise that Trump and his MAGA enablers in Congress are combining voting restrictions with attacks on the transgender community in this Frankenstein of a bill,” David Stacy, vice president of government affairs at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement to The Advocate. “They are part of the same autocratic mission to suppress the vote, throw folks back in the closet, and undermine the will of the people.”

Stacy added that the amendment draws from earlier Republican legislation targeting gender-affirming care.

“If that wasn’t enough, the amendment copies and pastes language from a Marjorie Taylor Greene bill that would throw doctors in jail and even risk putting parents in handcuffs, simply for providing best practice care to their children,” he said. “This bill is a sad and dangerous attempt to cover up for the fact that Trump and Congressional Republicans have no plans to tackle rising costs or any of the priorities of the American people.”

Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said he “worked closely” with the president “to introduce a substitute amendment that will save our elections, save women’s sports, and save our children from gender mutilation surgeries. It’s time to get this done.”

Related: Civil rights group calls Trump’s demand to add anti-trans language to voting bill ‘weak and desperate’

Related: White House press secretary ties voting bill to unrelated anti-trans Trump agenda in Fox News appearance

Related: How the SAVE Act would make it harder for trans people, married women, and some men to vote

The amendment comes as Senate Republicans move forward with debate on the SAVE Act despite lacking the votes needed to pass it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has acknowledged the bill is unlikely to reach the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster, but has continued with floor consideration.

Voting rights groups have warned that proof-of-citizenship requirements could make it harder for some eligible voters to register, particularly those whose documents do not match their current legal names, like married people, especially women, and transgender Americans. The amendment includes a process for name discrepancies but requires additional documentation or affidavits.

The legislation faces an uncertain path in the Senate. The House already passed a version of the bill that did not include the anti-trans provisions, and it would have to return to the House if the Senate passes it before Trump could sign the legislation into law. He has vowed not to sign any other bills into law until the measure receives a vote and passes.