FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 11, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) released the following statement:

“America turned its back on Jim Crow half a century ago. Tonight, House Republicans voted with unanimity to resurrect it through their primitive, suppressive, and aggressively misnamed “SAVE America Act,” which is designed only to save Republican politicians from their own severe unpopularity come November. 

“There is a single document available in all 50 states for natural-born and naturalized American citizens alike that will satisfy the restrictive demands of this legislation: a U.S. passport. For the millions of Americans who do not have a passport, or lack either the $165 or time necessary to obtain one, Donald Trump and his congressional lackeys believe their path to the polls should be paved over. Even by their pitiful and authoritarian standards, this is an un-American disgrace.

“Our citizens should face as few barriers to voting as possible. Only a flailing regime terrified of losing its fragile grasp on power would create more. Shame on each and every one of my Republican colleagues whose efforts helped revive one of the darkest chapters in this country’s history. History will not forget their cowardice at this moment, and neither will I.”

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