Possible Scenarios: The War in Iran and the Fate of the SAVE America Act and Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act

U.S. Senate Chamber

By Kristine Christlieb, MFEI News & Commentary Editor

March 4, 2026

Many of us were fired up on Friday. The SAVE America Act had passed the House and was now in the hands of reluctant Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) awaiting his action. In response to Thune's hesitancy, a risky and bold strategy for Senate passage was being pursued. It was going to be close, but the election integrity community believed there was a way to get the football across the goal line, possibly within the following week.

The talking filibuster was the proposed angle. The strategy would require strict party discipline to work, but the opportunity was clearly there.

Signatures were being collected for a letter to pressure Thune. Election integrity patriots across the country were being urged to call Thune’s office. In the middle of a meeting, I dropped offline to place a call to Thune’s office, leaving the message, “Do not file for cloture. Let the SAVE America Act and the talking filibuster go forward.”

Little did we know that within 24 hours, bombs over Tehran would consume all the political oxygen in Washington. War has a way of dominating the conversation.

At a minimum, the SAVE American Act and its broader companion legislation, the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act, likely have been shifted to the back burner for this week.

March 2- 6 War Powers Week

Even before the joint Israel/U.S. bombing of Iran began, there were two resolutions in the House and Senate legislative queue aimed at preventing the President from attacking Iran without Congressional approval. In an article published on Monday, Roll Call was designating this week “war powers week on Capitol Hill, with both chambers poised to vote on efforts to halt the U.S. military action against Iran without congressional authorization." Roll Call went on to report “a House vote [on the resolution] appears to be most likely on Thursday.”

It’s not that all domestic legislation is being taken off the table. On Monday evening, the Senate voted 84-6 to open the floor to discussion of H.R. 6644, Housing for the 21^st Century Act. It sailed through with broad bipartisan support, a luxury the SAVE America Act does not enjoy.

Using the “talking filibuster” to pass the SAVE America Act already was going to be a no-net, high wire act requiring near-total party discipline from the GOP. And now, while limited, some Republicans are signaling sympathy with the war powers resolution while Sen. Lindsey Graham has said he has "no desire" for a vote on the Iran strikes, suggesting internal tensions and making coordinated action on domestic legislation harder.

But there are other factors presenting roadblocks for SAVE America Act passage. Floor time isn’t infinite. The war powers debate, Iran briefings, and the ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding fight will consume the Senate's schedule for the foreseeable future. The SAVE America Act requires floor time Thune simply doesn't have right now.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are energized and unified. The congressional war powers debate would be largely symbolic, and even if a resolution passes, Trump will likely veto it, and Congress lacks the two-thirds majority to override; but Democrats see it as a vehicle to go on the record. The public display of unity could actually energize their resolve and cohesion heading into any subsequent filibuster fight over the SAVE America Act.

Even though election reform measures like requiring proof of citizenship for registering to vote and providing ID to cast a ballot are broadly popular, pushing election integrity legislation while American service members are in harm's way still risks looking politically tone deaf — not because the legislation is controversial, but because the timing suggests misplaced priorities regardless of the merits.

Bottom line

The Iran conflict effectively freezes the SAVE America Act's momentum in the Senate. If Sen. Thune was looking for an excuse. He got it. The path was already narrow — requiring either Democrat crossover votes (essentially impossible) or a successful talking filibuster gambit (which Thune had already declared dead). Now, Senate bandwidth, Republican unity, and public attention are all pointed elsewhere.

In a statement to MFEI News & Commentary, Harry Haury, chairman of Unite4Freedom, wrote:

"There are many priorities being juggled within the Trump Administration, all important and competing for resources and priority. The war with Iran is a fluid and evolving situation, and it is difficult to project effects on the legislative agenda such as Election Integrity priorities. It will be a dire result if we do not directly address broad election process reform before November of 2026."

Haury makes an excellent point. The clock is ticking. Already, the Trump administration is suggesting the war effort may require ground troops with fighting lasting for weeks. Even if there is a “mission accomplished” banner moment in the Iraq War, fighting could drag on for years. That’s a reason these conflicts have been labeled “forever wars.”

If the legislative path closes entirely, Trump could use his executive authority to invoke a National Emergency Declaration to implement election reform. It would be legally contested and disappointing for advocates who believe election integrity should be enshrined in law But if the Senate remains paralyzed through the fall, it would be the only option for reform left before November 2026.

The election integrity community now faces a choice: push forward and risk looking tone deaf, wait and risk running out of time before November 2026, or hope that circumstances change in ways nobody can currently predict.

There is also still the possibility of a quick resolution in Iran. If that happens, the election integrity community will need to quickly regroup and renew their efforts with Sen. Thune, putting his office number on speed dial. For everyone's sake, let's hope for that outcome.