Senate standoff and blame game

Should voters be required to prove they are US citizens and show photo ID before being allowed to cast their ballots?

Donald Trump is pushing for these changes and more in the SAVE (Save America Act) telling Republican lawmakers he’s “not going to sign anything until this is approved."

In this episode, Justin and Anthony look at the politics of the SAVE act. Would it make voting harder and who would benefit? Also, we explain how the bill is linked with huge delays at US airports, and why Democrats are accused of blocking homeland security funding.

Plus, the Democrats have won a special election in Florida that includes Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach after first-time candidate Emily Gregory defeated Trump-backed Republican Jon Maples in a race for the open Florida District 87 state House seat. Just how worried should Republicans be ahead of the midterm elections?

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

APPLY FOR CASTFEST TICKETS: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026

This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.

You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm