House Republicans ignoring ‘absurd’ Donald Trump demand despite backroom arm-twisting

House Republicans are pushing back against what they see as an unrealistic demand from Donald Trump to limit or even get rid of mail-in voting.

While Trump has been on a strong campaign against voting by mail, many Republican lawmakers in the House are not fully on board, especially those who rely on high voter turnout to win close elections.

A report from Politico says that the White House quietly tried to pressure Republican lawmakers to add stricter rules on mail-in voting to the SAVE America Act. Behind closed doors, there was an effort to convince them to include these restrictions in the bill.

However, that attempt did not succeed. Some Republican members of Congress have grown annoyed with what they see as heavy-handed pressure from the president.

Trump has openly criticized mail-in voting many times. Speaking to reporters, he questioned why anyone would support mail-in ballots if they believe the system is corrupt. On his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote that there should be no mail-in ballots except in cases of illness, disability, military service, or travel.

Even with these strong public statements, most Republican lawmakers did not follow his lead, and the push to restrict mail-in voting within the legislation eventually fell apart.

One Republican who spoke out is Mike Lawler of New York. He is facing a tough reelection race and made it clear that he supports the use of mail-in voting. While he said he thinks it is unreasonable for states to automatically send ballots to everyone without a request, he does not oppose mail-in voting itself. He appeared frustrated with the broader argument that the entire system is flawed.

Other House Republicans share some of Trump’s concerns but are being more careful about how they approach the issue. Many of them represent states such as Florida, where mail-in voting has been used widely for years and there has been little proof of widespread fraud. At the state level, Republican officials have often worked to encourage every possible method of voting, including voting by mail, as part of their efforts to boost turnout.

Lawler summed up this practical approach by saying the main goal should be to get Republican voters to cast their ballots, no matter how they choose to do it. Whether people vote by mail, vote early in person, or show up on Election Day, he believes the focus should be on making sure supporters participate.