While most of the country enjoys a normal weekend, the Senate is once again doing its best impression of a stalled engine, grinding through negotiations on the SAVE America Act as a Department of Homeland Security funding lapse drags on. At a Saturday press conference, James Lankford joined a lineup of Republican leadership, including John Thune and John Barrasso, to air frustrations over both the shutdown and what they describe as Democratic resistance to election security measures.

Lankford didn’t exactly tiptoe around the messaging, arguing Democrats are “more afraid of ICE than they are of Iran,” framing the DHS shutdown as a national security risk tied to broader geopolitical tensions. Subtlety, clearly, was not invited to this press conference. He also pivoted to voting laws, emphasizing that citizenship requirements are already federal law and questioning why verification standards vary widely across states. According to Lankford, requiring voter ID and confirming citizenship should fall somewhere between “common sense” and “why are we still talking about this.”

At the center of the standoff is the SAVE America Act, which would require states to verify citizenship for voter registration, mandate photo ID for voting, and remove non-citizens from voter rolls, with penalties for violations. Critics, of course, argue the bill could complicate voter access and shift more federal pressure onto states, something the Constitution already gives broad authority over elections. Meanwhile, the Senate continues its weekend work session, proving once again that when it comes to Washington, even “simple and straightforward” can take a while.