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California Senator Alex Padilla has been one of the loudest voices in the Senate against President Trump’s SAVE America Act, fighting against it on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
“I don’t put anything past Donald Trump in trying to hold on to power,” Padilla told Eyewitness News in a one-on-one interview last week.
The SAVE Act would require all U.S. voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to vote. Padilla says it would disenfranchise millions of eligible American citizens from making their voices heard.
“Your own driver’s license wouldn’t be sufficient to be able to cast your ballot. We’re talking passports or original birth certificates. If you’re a woman who changed her name when she got married, good luck trying to meet the documentary requirements to be able to exercise your right to vote,” said Padilla.
We’re less than two months from the California primary and almost six months from the 2026 midterms. Democrats like Padilla fear we could see ICE raids at polling places.
“It is against the law for that type of law enforcement presence to intimidate voters at the polls… When we heard that it was being entertained by the White House, we started asking the question. Then, multiple Department of Homeland Security officials on record publicly saying, ‘No, there’s no plans to do that. No, that wouldn’t be allowed.’ But we have to remain vigilant. Look, all the more reason for people to vote early, which you can in California, and vote by mail just to not have to worry about that potential come Election Day,” Padilla said.
Padilla tells Eyewitness News the biggest way he believes Democrats can rein in the president is by regaining their majority in Congress in the midterms. Trump went to war with Iran without approval from Congress. In a new IPSOS poll, 51% of Americans say the decision to take military action in Iran has not been worth it. Another 24% say it has been worth it, and 22% are unsure.
“A ceasefire is not a peace agreement. A ceasefire, and if it holds in two weeks, then what? The one thing that’s clear, though, is Donald Trump never justified, gave a clear reason, for beginning this war with Iran,” Padilla said.
Trump said Tuesday that a new round of peace talks with Iran in Pakistan could happen in the coming days. A deal wasn’t reached over the weekend after Vice President JD Vance said Iran refused to give up their nuclear program. Padilla blames the war for rising gas prices and inflation.
“For all his distaste for California, California’s policy leadership and electric vehicles, all of a sudden these cleaner, more efficient and zero-emitting vehicles are a lot more attractive,” Padilla said.
When it comes to the crowded and chaotic governor’s race, Padilla told Eyewitness News he thinks that at this point, one Democrat and one Republican will move on to the runoff. So far, Padilla has not endorsed a candidate.
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