Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) spoke with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on September 28, 2026. Senate Republicans attempted to pass a bill that included a voter ID requirement alongside a ban on congressional stock trading. The Stop Insider Trading Act aimed to prevent members of Congress and their families from buying individual stocks, a proposal that has garnered support from Democrats and the general public. However, the bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate in the Senate, with a vote tally of 53-47. All Democratic and independent senators opposed the measure.
This attempt was part of the GOP's ongoing efforts to implement anti-voting measures supported by former President Donald Trump. The SAVE America Act, a more extensive package of voting restrictions, has repeatedly failed to pass Congress since Trump returned to office last year. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized the vote as a political maneuver, asserting that the inclusion of the voter ID provision was intended to ensure the stock trading bill's failure. Schumer stated, "If Republicans cared about stock trading by members, they wouldn’t have loaded it up with a poison pill — a voter ID bill that would gut mail voting and that has failed six times."
The Senate's latest vote occurred as members prepared for the campaign trail, with the House having already adjourned earlier in the month. Recent polls indicate that Republicans may struggle to maintain control of both chambers, as Trump's approval ratings have reached record lows. The floor vote was seen as an effort to provide Republicans facing challenging reelection campaigns with a message to present to voters, amidst concerns about the party's alignment with Trump on various issues.
The House had previously passed a version of the stock trading and voter ID legislation in July, with support from 13 Democrats. Thune described the measure as "a photo ID law coupled with a ban on insider trading." During a recent event, Trump reiterated his call for the passage of the SAVE America Act. Despite the House's approval of various versions of the bill, Senate Republicans have not been able to secure the necessary votes to overcome a filibuster. Democrats have also criticized the stock trading limitations in the new bill as having loopholes, allowing lawmakers to retain individual stocks they already own, which could influence their voting in favor of those companies. They advocate for proposals that would extend the ban to include the president and vice president.