By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — Election-year legislation to impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements on voting appears stalled in the Senate, for now, despite President Donald Trump’s call in his State of the Union speech that Republicans in Congress pass the bill “before anything else.”

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Trump’s push for the bill, backed by House conservatives and his most loyal supporters ahead of the midterm elections, has put new pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune as he tries to navigate an effort from inside and outside Congress to bypass normal Senate procedure. Thune has said he supports the legislation and that his GOP conference is still discussing how to pass it.

Senate Republicans “aren’t unified on an approach,” Thune said on Wednesday after Trump’s speech.

In an effort to get around Democratic opposition, Trump and others have pushed a so-called “talking filibuster,” which would bring the Senate back to the days of the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” when senators talked indefinitely to block legislation. Today, the Senate mostly skips the speeches and votes to end debate, which takes 60 votes in the Senate where Republicans have a 53-47 majority.

Republicans wouldn’t have to change the rules to force a talkathon. They could simply keep the Senate open and make Democrats deliver speeches for days or weeks to delay taking up the legislation. But Thune would still need enough support from his caucus to move forward with that approach, and he said this week that “we aren’t there yet.”

The tension has put the affable, well-liked Thune in a tough spot with Trump and many of his voters who argue that the legislation is necessary for a GOP victory in the midterm elections. Trump has already made clear that he will blame Democrats, and potentially Thune, if they lose their majorities in Congress in November — even though Republicans won control of Congress and the White House in 2024 without the bill’s requirements.

Democrats oppose the bill because “they want to cheat,” Trump claimed in his speech on Tuesday.

“We have to stop it, John,” Trump said, calling out Thune by name.

Election Voting Official Debra Mikell, left, and Patricia Ocon check touchscreen voting machine at New Chicago Voter Supersite in Chicago, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Complicated and risky maneuver

Trump and his supporters, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, say the talking filibuster would allow them to pass the legislation — called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act — without any Democratic votes. But the maneuver could end up creating more problems for Republicans.

Under a talking filibuster, Democrats would have to stay on the floor and give speeches for an indefinite amount of time to block the bill. Each senator is only allowed two speeches on a particular piece of legislation, so the idea is that Democrats would eventually run out of speeches or quit due to exhaustion, allowing Republicans to proceed with a simple majority vote.

“We won’t pass the SAVE America Act unless we start by making filibustering senators speak,” Lee said on social media. “This will take time and effort, but we’d be crazy not to give it the effort it deserves.”

The reality on the floor would be more complicated. Democrats would be able to throw up procedural roadblocks, including restarting the clock for speeches if enough Republicans weren’t also present on the floor. That means nearly all 53 Republicans would need to remain close to the Senate during the filibuster, while only one Democrat would have to keep speaking. The process could last for weeks, given that there are 47 Democrats in the Senate.

Even if Republicans managed to break the first filibuster, Democrats could then offer an unlimited number of amendments on anything they wish, forcing Republicans to take hard votes in an election year and potentially adding some of their own priorities to the legislation if they have some bipartisan support. Each amendment would bring a new round of speeches as well.

“We’d have to have 50 to defeat every amendment,” Thune said. “And that’s not a where we are right now.”

Republican concerns

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, reflects on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as he meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

As Thune has discussed the possibility with his conference in recent weeks, some Republicans have expressed worry that the process could lead to rules changes that could lead the Senate to “go nuclear” and eventually vote to erode the legislative filibuster.

Most Senate Republicans have said they do not want to lower the 60-vote threshold for ending debate on legislation, even though it has been lowered for presidential and judicial nominations.

“I agree with the SAVE Act,” Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said after Trump’s speech. “But I’m not going to nuke the filibuster.”

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said that “the reason or method doesn’t matter — it’s breaking the filibuster.”

Other Republicans could also block the process. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has said she opposes the SAVE Act, and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former GOP majority leader, has opposed similar legislation in the past.

GOP senators who support the maneuver were also realistic about the difficulty of the talking filibuster approach.

“You’d have to have a deep commitment among almost all of our members,” said Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, who supports it.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called it “hard but doable.”

GOP election strategy

FILE – A Vote Here sign is posted amongst political signs as people arrive to vote at the Rutherford County Annex Building, an early voting site, Oct. 17, 2024, in Rutherfordton, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek, File)

The voting bill would require Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, mostly through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate. It would also require a valid photo identification before voters can cast ballots, which some states already demand. The House approved it earlier this month on a mostly party-line vote, 218-213.

Republicans said the legislation is needed to prevent voter fraud, but Democrats warn it will disenfranchise millions of Americans by making it harder to vote. Voting experts have warned that more than 20 million U.S. citizens of voting age do not have proof of their citizenship readily available, and almost half of Americans do not have a U.S. passport. Critics also said the bill’s enactment could cause chaos in this year’s elections and confuse voters because some of it would take effect immediately.

Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens, but there’s no requirement to provide documentary proof when registering, though they do affirm under oath at the risk of prosecution that they are eligible.

Experts said voter fraud is extremely rare, and very few noncitizens ever slip through the cracks. About one in 10 Americans doesn’t have readily available paperwork proving they are citizens.

The legislation also would require states to share their voter information with the Department of Homeland Security as a way to verify the citizenship of the names on the voter rolls. That has drawn pushback from elections officials as potentially intrusive on people’s privacy.

Trump said in his speech on Tuesday that the bill would be “country-saving.”

Echoing his false claims of voter fraud when he lost the 2020 election, Trump said that Democrats “want to cheat, they have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat.”

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Matt Brown in Washington contributed to this report.

By JOSH FUNK

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it’s misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.

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NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the House bill’s “watered-down” requirements wouldn’t do enough to prevent a future tragedy, and wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a Senate bill that came up just one vote short of passing in the House earlier this week. The full NTSB followed up Thursday afternoon with a formal letter to the two key House committees, saying that they can’t support the bill right now

“We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you’re using the NTSB and you’re using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies,” Homendy said. “You’re using their pain to move your agenda forward.”

The key concern of Homendy and the families of the people who died in the crash on Jan. 29, 2005, is that they believe all aircraft should be required to have key locator systems that the NTSB has been recommending since 2008, which would allow the pilots to know more precisely where the traffic around them is flying. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out systems that broadcast an aircraft’s location are already required around busy airports. It’s the ADS-B In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft that isn’t yet standard. But Homendy said the bill is weak in other areas, such as limits on when the military will be able to turn those locator systems off.

The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee declined to respond to Homendy’s criticism Thursday, but Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen have said they believe the ALERT bill they crafted effectively addresses the 50 recommendations that NTSB made at the conclusion of their investigation into the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter.

They defended their bill and pledged to work with the families, the Senate and the industry to develop the best solution as soon as possible. The committee will likely markup the bill within the next few weeks.

“From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal,” Larsen and Graves said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he is committed to getting the bill done.

The NTSB released a side-by-side comparison of its recommendations and the House bill to highlight all the ways the bill falls short of fully addressing the needed changes.

Doug Lane, a family member of those who were killed in the midair collision near Washington Reagan National Airport, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, and many of the other victims’ families said the House bill “is not really a serious attempt to address the NTSB recommendations.” He said the introduction of this bill just a few days before the vote on the ROTOR Act, which the Senate unanimously approved, seemed designed to “scuttle” that bill and send the ADS-B In recommendation into limbo to be considered in a lengthy rulemaking process.

Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said that the bill must require ADS-B In to be acceptable to the families.

“As far as the ALERT act — the way it’s written now, I can’t endorse the way its written now. It needs to include ADS-B In,” Collins said. “It’s non-negotiable for us as family members, extremely non-negotiable.”

The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.

But Homendy said the House seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to include from the NTSB recommendations.

“We were very explicit of what needed to occur,” Homendy said. “When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you’re just going to give us half a loaf, it’s not going to do it. We’re not gonna save lives.”

A trip through the Class 2A, Section 1 tournament prepped Simley for the team state tournament.

The Spartans’ section semifinal match against Pine Island (a 38-19 victory) and section final against Kasson-Mantorville (33-24) were both tighter than Simley’s state quarterfinal and semifinal bouts ahead of Thursday’s state championship dual against New Ulm.

“We’ve been really battle tested in Section 1AA. We’ve been in dogfights, pressure matches, Kasson, Zumbrota, Pine Island all brought really good teams to the table,” Simley co-coach Will Short said. “And we just felt like we came in (to state), we’ve been through a meat grinder to get here.”

Three of the top seven teams in Class 2A hailed from Section 1, per The Guillotine’s most recent rankings – No. 1 Simley, No. 2 Kasson-Mantorville and No. 7 Zumbrota-Mazeppa.

It was Kasson-Mantorville that ended Simley’s six-year state championship streak with a win in last year’s state semifinals. That was when the Spartans were in Section 4. But for the second time in recent memory, the Minnesota State High School League moved Simley south to Section 1 for this season and next, meaning either the KoMets or Spartans – or maybe both, given the competitiveness of Section 1 – won’t compete in the team competition in St. Paul each February.

The only time Simley didn’t qualify for the state tournament since 2008 came in the 2018 campaign, when it was in Section 1 and Kasson-Mantorville downed the Spartans in the section final.

Which is all fine. Short noted a team title is all the better the more daunting the journey. He showered the programs and coaches down south with praise. Ideally all of the state’s top programs compete in St. Paul at the main event, but only one can hoist the trophy at the end regardless.

A few of the top teams in Minnesota duking it out in sections just to reach state is certainly not unique to wrestling. And there’s a lot of value in opening doors for other programs to earn the state experience. South St. Paul has a strong program. The Packers getting back to state for the first time since 2021 is surely another jolt in the arm that will only help South St. Paul to continue to ascend to new heights.

The bigger rub with the realignment rears its head in the individual tournament. Only the top two finishers in each weight class from each section tournament advance to St. Paul. Which makes it difficult when, in the Guillotine’s final pre-postseason rankings earlier this month, Section 1 touted three top-10 ranked wrestlers in multiple weight classes.

“What’s tough is a lot of good individuals aren’t here right now that deserve to be here, that have put in time,” Short said. “So that’s hard.”

Simley sent seven boys individuals to state this season. That number would’ve certainly been in the double digits had the Spartans still been in the East Metro-based Section 4. Their presence in Section 1 also likely suppressed individual state tournament participation for other high-end wrestlers in the southern part of the state, which is unfortunate given the honor that comes with being a state tournament place winner (top six finisher in your weight class).

In Thursday’s individual first-round competition, Section 1 qualifiers went 20-6 in Class 2A boys competition, while Section 4 qualifiers went 3-23.

More is better

The MSHSL adding a fourth day of competition to the state wrestling tournament has generated a couple of positives:

The team tournament is spread out over two days, rather than it all being jammed into one, 12-hour span.

Enough time is available to do a full, double-elimination tournament at the individual level. In past years, 25% of the individual field only received one match. Now, everyone gets at least two.

Moving on

The following East Metro wrestlers reached their respective individual quarterfinals with first-round victories Thursday morning:

3A: 107 pounds – Farmington’s Lucas Stevens, St. Thomas Academy’s Nathan Hoopman, Stillwater’s Chase Lawrence. 114 – Eastview’s Maud Irobe, St. Thomas Academy’s Connor Bischof, Stillwater’s Brodie Lawrence. 121 – Centennial’s Jack Grygelko, White Bear Lake’s Indiana Kane, Hastings’ Beckett Edstrom. 127 – Stillwater’s Noah Nicholson, Farmington’s Blake Han-Lindemyer, Mounds View’s Owen LaRose, Hastings’ William Bainbridge. 133 – Hastings’ Trey Beissel, Eastview’s Spencer Lee. 139 – Rosemount’s Abram Anderson, Stillwater’s Axel Rogotzke. 145 – Park’s Landen Brooks, Mounds View’s William Schneider, Stillwater’s Isaac Leonard, Farmington’s Timothy Mangowi. 152 – Farmington’s Davis Parrow, Stillwater’s George Jones, Park’s Zack Carr. 160 – Stillwater’s Grayson Eggum, Lakeville North’s Riley Forar, Forest Lake’s Dayton Dale, Eastview’s Pierce Lewis. 172 – Apple Valley’s Riley Clark. 189 – Stillwater’s Cael Spates, Eastview’s Logan Myers, Mounds View’s Caden Grenier. 215 – Stillwater’s Cohen Lumby, Forest Lake’s Cullen Christenson, Lakeville North’s Tyler Ruff. 285 – Stillwater’s Andrew Olson, Woodbury’s Mitchell Folks,

2A: 114 – Simley’s Jacob Kranz. 121 – Simley’s Adrian Mincey. 127 – Simley’s Damir Safronov, Mahtomedi’s Aidan Carlson. 145 – Simley’s Jake Kos, Johnson’s Gabe Park. 152 – Simley’s Aiden Mincey. 172 – Simley’s Amilio Salas. 215 – Cretin-Derham Hall’s Julius Washington.

Girls: 100 – Two Rivers’ Ziggy Harahan, Apple Valley’s Madilyn Trottier, Mahtomedi’s Elizabeth Carlson. 106 – Forest Lake’s Annica Blasko. 118 – Simley’s Charli Raymond, Farmington’s Alexandra Thovson, Roseville’s Anica Barze. 124 – Eagan’s Ellie Westerman, Apple Valley’s Andrea Quinones. 130 – White Bear Lake’s Isabelle Kane. 136 – Hastings’ Audrianna Dahlberg. 142 – Simley’s Greta Gundry, Eagan’s Taniah Borney. 148 – Stillwater’s Audry Rogotzke, Forest Lake’s Bella Carlson. 155 – Apple Valley’s Cassy Gonzales, Johnson’s Alyzabeth Hiler, Centennial’s Nora Akpan. 170 – Apple Valley’s Esperanza Calvillo, Roseville’s Alyssa Diedrich, White Bear Lake’s Jinet Demanou. 190 – East Ridge’s Danica Fuelling, White Bear Lake’s Merrick Jensen, Como Park’s Makiya May. 235 – Apple Valley’s Mila Carnahan, Harding’s Charlize-M Laban.

Winner’s bracket competition resumes Friday in St. Paul.

The results of the annual NFLPA report cards weren’t supposed to be available to public this year. That was the goal of the NFL when they filed a grievance with the NFLPA a few months stating that the survey violated the collective bargaining agreement.

That didn’t stop the worldwide leader from obtaining the results. ESPN reporter Kalyn Kahler managed to get her hands on the grades and published them for everybody to see.

The results were once again favorable for the Vikings as they ranked No. 2 overall behind only the Miami Dolphins. Both teams have consistently ranked high ever since the NFLPA started tracking this type of stuff.

Here’s a look at the full report card for the Vikings:

Treatment of Families: A

Home Game Field: B

Food/Dining Area: B-

Nutritionist/Dietician: B+

Locker Room: A

Training Room: A-

Training Staff: A-

Weight Room: A-

Strength Coaches: A

Position Coaches: B+

Offensive Coordinator: A-

Defensive Coordinator: B+

Special Teams Coordinator: A-

Team Travel: B+

Head Coach: A

General Manager: A

Team Ownership: A+

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