Senate Republicans dug in for the long haul as they embarked on their floor takeover and signaled that the hours of debate that crept well beyond the upper chamber’s usual twilight business hours were just the beginning.

The GOP launched its plan to control the Senate floor earlier Tuesday and spent the ensuing hours lauding and defending the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act as Senate Democrats hammered the bill as a tool of voter suppression.

But without Democratic support, the bill is destined to fail. And the vote to open the marathon debate session, which lawmakers predict could last days if not weeks, was an indicator that the support did not exist in the upper chamber to pass the SAVE America Act.

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Still, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the bill’s sponsor in the upper chamber and the lawmaker who led lobbying efforts with Senate Republican leadership to get the bill on the floor, argued late Tuesday night that Senate Republicans would be remiss to waste the opportunity ahead of them.

“This is our moment,” Lee said. “Stand for a simple principle; let the American people see who is willing to defend their sacred right to vote and who is not.”

Several other lawmakers took to the floor throughout the late afternoon and evening, with debate often weaving in and out of the topic at hand and stretching into other matters of the day, like President Donald Trump’s war in Iran or honoring the Ohio service members who died in a midair refueling mission in the Middle East.

Democrats charged that the bill went far beyond just voter ID and was designed to suppress a plethora of groups from voting.

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Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., accused Republicans of using the floor exercise to distract from other pressing issues.

“Instead of focusing on the affordability crisis or trying to save us from endless wars, Senate Republicans are once again doing Donald Trump’s bidding,” Padilla said. “This time, they’re making his conspiracy-fueled election takeover bill their top priority.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said that repeated probes and investigations found that “you are more likely to get struck by lightning than for a non-citizen to vote.” Republicans argue the bill is explicitly designed to end that practice.

Merkley countered that the legislation was about “rigging the November election.”

“And that’s exactly what Trump said — ‘You give me this bill, my party will win November and every other election for a long time to come,’” Merkley said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who is leading an amendment to include several changes to the bill requested by Trump, argued that “a republic has the right to distinguish citizens from noncitizens.”

“That should not be controversial,” Schmitt said. “That should not even be difficult. The vote is not a global entitlement. The vote is not a participation trophy for anyone who happens to cross our borders.”

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The floor debate is expected to continue for the next several days. In the meantime, some Republicans believe they can wear down Senate Democrats enough to pass the legislation, despite the challenge of the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

Lee and a cohort of like-minded Republicans pushed for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to turn to the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, which, after possibly several weeks of debate, would lower the threshold to pass the bill to a simple majority.

Despite pressure from within his conference, Trump, and conservatives beyond the walls of Congress, the notion has become an insurmountable math problem that Republicans have not been able to unify behind.

Lee, however, was ready for the long haul Tuesday night.

“Let’s face it, there is no legitimate reason to oppose this bill,” Lee said. “And I stand by that, and I will continue to stand by that in the coming days and weeks. And I’m ready for many, many weeks. We’re going to stay on this bill until it damn well passes, because the American people demand and deserve nothing less than that.”

Senate Democrats are set to grill Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, his first hurdle to becoming the next Homeland Security chief.

Mullin’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains shuttered over Democrats’ desire for stringent reforms to the agency’s immigration enforcement operations.

Senate Democrats on the panel plan to use those demands to gauge Mullin’s willingness to make changes at the agency. They have argued since current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s reassignment from the position that changes must go beyond a shift in personnel.

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“He’s made some pretty incendiary statements that reflect his resistance to reform and would make him unqualified, unless he has a clear explanation and even retraction,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital.

When asked if he wanted guarantees on changes to the agency, Blumenthal said Mullin “needs to make commitments for reform.”

“If he fails to make commitments to far-reaching and fundamental reform, he should be defeated and rejected,” he said.

Mullin also has an icy relationship with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the committee. When asked how the hearing could go, Paul said, “Come tomorrow, and you’ll find out more.”

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland committee, said that he plans to give Mullin a fair shake but has questions about his colleague’s views on how the agency could change with him at the helm.

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“Certainly, I’d like to get his assessment of how he sees things currently and what he might change,” Peters told Fox News Digital. “That would be a fair range of questions.”

Senate Republicans are sprinting to move Mullin through the process, given that President Donald Trump wants Mullin in and Noem out by March 31. The confirmation hearing is the first step, and despite Democratic resistance, Mullin will likely clear that hurdle and head for a full vote in the Senate later this month.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he and his leadership team haven’t tried to corral votes for Mullin, but noted that Democrats would “decide to turn on one of their colleagues in the Senate” after getting exactly what they wanted: Noem replaced.

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“He’s got good, strong relationships on the other side of the aisle,” Thune said. “And I mean, this is what the Democrats were clamoring for. They wanted a new change and shake-up in the leadership, and it’s now happening.”

While Mullin will walk into a hearing that will test his relationship with colleagues across the aisle, he does have at least one Democratic friend on the committee.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who almost immediately came out in support of Mullin’s nomination, said he is still having conversations with the lawmaker about reforms to DHS. Fetterman planned to meet with Mullin ahead of the hearing.

“Is it controversial to talk to members of the opposite party? It might be controversial for some people, but that’s going to be an ongoing dialogue with him,” Fetterman said. “You know, I’ve said it, he’s a good dude, and I got to know him on a CODEL over the years.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., on Tuesday sought to defend his social media post comparing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Tuberville shared a post last week that juxtaposed a photo of the terror attack on the Twin Towers with an image of Mamdani, who appeared to be hosting a Ramadan Iftar event at City Hall. An account called “End Wokeness” posted the images along with a message that read, “Less than 25 years apart.”

“The enemy is inside the gates,” Tuberville said on X in response to the image.

Asked to explain his post on the social platform X, Tuberville said, “I just go by his rhetoric.”

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“He’s made a lot of statements about his stance with Islam and radical Islam, all the things that go along with what he preaches every day. And I’m just kind of repeating what he’s saying,” the senator told DC News Now’s Reshad Hudson.

“We don’t need a division in this country. We need everybody to go with the Constitution, understand we have moral values. And if we all stick with those –– I don’t care if you’re Muslim or Catholic or Baptist, it makes no difference,” he continued.

He added, “We need to make the country better; we don’t need to divide it. That’s what he’s doing in New York.”

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When asked about whether Muslim Americans in Alabama may find his post offensive, Tuberville said he has “some great Muslim friends” and that he spoke to “two Iranians in Alabama this past week about the war. Obviously, they’re Muslim.”

“If you teach and preach Sharia law, if you bow down to the Quran, it teaches death to Americans. That don’t fly with me, okay?” he said, although the Quran makes no reference to the U.S. or Americans.

The Alabama lawmaker and former college football coach reiterated that he does not care about a person’s religious background.

“Hey, you come be part of our country [and] don’t try to divide people, don’t try to push your culture — we already have a culture — [then] I’m all for you,” he added.

Tuberville made several more social media posts on Tuesday targeting Islam.

“Radical Islam is the enemy of any freedom-loving American. The liberal media is running cover for Radical Islamists, but the Quran is pretty CLEAR on its instructions to KILL all non-Muslims,” he said in one post.

“To anyone offended by me calling radical Islamic jihadists the enemy: If the shoe fits, wear it,” he said in another post.

The senator’s initial “the enemy is inside the gates” post, which was pinned to the top of his X account as of Wednesday morning, prompted a heavy rebuke from Democrats, including Mamdani, who is Muslim.

“Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers,” Mamdani said on X in response to the senator’s post.

Latin Grammy-winning singer Bobby Pulido, now the Democratic nominee in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, appeared in a controversial music video depicting lewd behavior.

In a 2010 music video for his song “Dias de Ayer,” Pulido portrayed a character wrapped in a red blanket engaging in indecent acts and appearing to expose himself to a woman seated next to him on a plane.

According to the New York Post, Pulido faced questions from the Mexican press about his sexuality following the release of the video.

“People are opening up more. I can even tell you that when I started my career, I saw the whole situation (of gays) very differently. At first, they said I was gay; there were rumors that I was like that,” Pulido said in a 2010 interview with the outlet El Norte, translated from Spanish.

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Pulido responded to comments about sexuality in several posts, including a 2019 post on his personal X account: “Igualmente amigo, no homo.”

In a 2015 post, Pulido taunted pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who later served a seven-year prison sentence, writing, “Don’t drop the soap a–hole.”

After announcing his campaign last fall, Pulido faced scrutiny over resurfaced posts linking to explicit websites on his personal X account, as well as a post that appeared to show him urinating on President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

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The Democratic nominee also drew backlash over past vulgar attacks against Trump, including posting the Spanish translation of “f— your mother.”

“I’d like to give you the biggest ‘f— you,’ you piece of s—, a–hole, d— head, son of a b—-,” Pulido wrote in another post.

Pulido also drew attention after previously describing himself as a “winter Texan” for spending much of the year in Mexico.

Pulido is vying for the seat currently held by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, a two-term incumbent.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Pulido for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Evrvin failed to defeat a crowded field of Democratic candidates Tuesday for a deep-blue House seat, despite the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spending aggressively to put her over the top.

Conyears-Ervin’s loss represents a notable defeat for the pro-Israel group, which frequently intervenes in Democratic primaries. 

State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Ill., won the 13-way primary ballot after weathering a torrent of attack ads powered by the cryptocurrency industry. Ford touted the endorsement of Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill, who represented the district incorporating parts of the city’s South Side and western suburbs for nearly three decades.

AIPAC and its affiliates spent more than $5 million boosting Conyears-Ervin. The Chicago Democrat also had the support of the city’s influential teachers’ unions and the cryptocurrency industry. 

Ford’s GOP opponent will face a steep battle to win the general election in the Democrat-heavy district. In 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris won more than 80% of the vote in the district, where Black Americans constitute a plurality.

Conyears-Ervin previously came up short in a primary challenge against Davis in 2024, though her campaign was marred by allegations that she misused city funds for personal use and retaliated against whistleblowers. The Chicago Democrat paid a $30,000 fine in 2025 to resolve the charges brought by a city ethics panel.

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Eleven other Democratic candidates were on the ballot in a free-for-all contest to replace Davis.

Jason Friedman, a real estate developer and philanthropist, also failed to receive a sizable share of votes despite outraising the field. AIPAC’s main super PAC spent tens of thousands of dollars attacking his candidacy.

Progressive activist Kina Collins and several other left-wing candidates appeared to split the vote among voters hailing from the party’s leftward flank.

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AIPAC, a frequent player in congressional races, has had mixed success intervening in 2026 primaries so far. 

In February, the group was successful in torpedoing former Rep. Tom Malinowski’s comeback bid in a New Jersey special election, but a Democrat with even more hostile views toward Israel narrowly won the primary. That candidate, Analilia Mejia, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is on track to win the general election in April in the Democrat-held seat.

The group also spent heavily against several other Illinois Democrats running in other primary contests who have views critical of Israel, including media personality Kat Abughzaleh.

Conyears-Ervin has served as Chicago’s city treasurer since 2019 and previously did a one-term stint in the state legislature.

Chicago has faced an array of fiscal challenges during Conyears-Ervin’s tenure. Two rating agencies downgraded Chicago’s credit rating in February over the city’s sizable budget deficits.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Illinois is now a giant step closer to becoming only the fifth Black woman elected to the Senate in the nation’s history.

Stratton on Tuesday topped Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, her top two rivals among a crowded field of contenders, in a contentious and extremely expensive Democratic Senate primary, the Associated Press reports.

Stratton, a former state lawmaker who has served two terms as lieutenant governor under Gov. JB Pritzker, a fellow Democrat, will now be considered the clear frontrunner in blue-leaning Illinois to succeed Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who’s retiring at the end of the year after three decades in the Senate.

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The Democratic Senate primary, as well as down-ballot battles for a quartet of Chicago-area open House seats, were hotbeds for contentious party disagreements over battling illegal immigration and policy towards Israel, how best to push back against President Donald Trump‘s unprecedented second-term agenda, and the generational struggles among Democrats.

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Krishnamoorthi, who was born in India and immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a child, was the clear fundraising frontrunner in the Democratic primary, and spent big bucks to run ads. And a super PAC funded by crypto titans has shelled out nearly $10 million in support of Krishnamoorthi.

But Stratton was backed by Pritzker, who had plenty on the line in the Senate primary.

That’s because the billionaire governor and potential 2028 White House contender, who was unopposed for his party’s nomination as he seeks to become the first Democrat to serve three terms steering the nation’s sixth-most populous state, dipped into his large war chest to dish out millions to fund a super PAC supporting Stratton

The Senate primary was viewed as a test of Pritzker’s political clout in Illinois as he likely gears up for a 2028 presidential run. The governor has seen his national profile skyrocket over the past 14 months as he’s become a top Democrat leading the resistance to Trump.

Far-left social media influencer and former Media Matters journalist Kat Abughazaleh has lost her bid to replace a longtime House Democrat in Illinois.

Abughazaleh was one of 15 people running in a crowded primary to replace Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who is retiring after nearly 30 years in Congress.

She lost to Daniel Biss, the mayor of Everston, Ill., and a former state lawmaker.

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The race to replace Schakowsky in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, a safe blue seat, has been a battle of the ages.

Abughazaleh, 26, is part of an increasingly politically active coterie of left-wing Gen Z activists who have been critical of the Democratic establishment.

Her campaign website touts “a new type of Democratic campaign,” warning, “If you’re a right-wing billionaire or a member of the Democratic consultant class, this campaign isn’t for you.”

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She notably said during a primary debate that she did not support the continued leadership of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

The progressive influencer also got indicted on federal charges late last year related to an incident in which agitators allegedly attacked an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle outside a Chicago suburb holding facility.

Fine, who is supported by groups linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), said she would back Jeffries. She was the most moderate of the three front-runners.

Biss did not weigh in. He was the only candidate backed by Schakowsky in the race.

Before becoming mayor of the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Biss ran for governor but lost his primary to Illinois’ current leader, Gov. JB Pritzker.

The 9th Congressional District includes part of Chicago and its northern suburbs and is rated D+19 by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

The winner of Tuesday night’s primary was all but assured to win the general election in November.

Melissa Bean, the former congresswoman who represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District more than a decade ago, has won Tuesday’s primary election to retake the seat from retiring Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who is running for Senate.

Bean entered Tuesday with a reported fundraising advantage of more than $1 million in the primary in the district, a Democrat-friendly zigzag of Chicago suburbs in Cook, Kane and DuPage counties west of the city proper.

Bean last represented the district from 2005 to 2011, when she was upset during the Tea Party wave as now-former Rep. Joe Walsh — one of President Donald Trump’s biggest GOP critics — eked out a victory by less than half a percentage point.

Walsh was eventually defeated by now-Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who herself was replaced by Krishnamoorthi, a native of New Delhi, India.

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Krishnamoorthi hopes to be the latest senator elected from the district, as he vies to replace the retiring Land of Lincoln Democratic mainstay Sen. Richard Durbin.

Prior to Bean’s first tenure, Republican Phil Crane held the seat beginning in 1969, and before him, future Bush Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld — reflecting a marked political lurch to the left in the Chicago area in recent years.

IT consultant Junaid Ahmed faced off against Bean and other candidates in Tuesday’s race, running on a more progressive platform.

Ahmed’s platform included “realizing self-determination for Palestine and ending the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank,” according to the local CBS affiliate, as well as Medicaid expansion, green energy investments and canceling student loan debt.

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Candidate and former Krishnamoorthi aide Yasmeen Bankole was endorsed by Durbin. Bankole is currently a trustee for the village of Highland Park, Illinois, and also supports a Medicare-for-all plan, undoing President Donald Trump’s tariffs and raising the minimum wage, according to the outlet.

Other candidates in the race included business executive Sanjyot Dunung, activist Neil Khot, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, Army JAG officer Dan Tully and ex-DOJ counterterrorism staffer Ryan Vetticad.

The Democratic victor is expected to be moderately favored in November given the current political makeup of the D+5 district, and will face the winner of the Republican primary.

Candidates there included accountant Kevin Ake, software company owner Jennifer Davis, retired Chicago cop Herbert Hebein, and business executive Mark Rice.

Democrat Patty García secured her party’s nomination for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District after a controversial last-minute decision by her former boss, incumbent Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, not to seek re-election allowed her to run unopposed.

A heavily Hispanic district situated in Chicago and its suburbs, Illinois’ 4th Congressional District is considered one of the deepest-blue House districts in the country, giving García a marked advantage in the November general election.

After serving on Rep. García’s staff since his 2019 election, she is widely considered his handpicked successor. The two are not related. Rep. García sparked controversy last fall when he announced he would not seek re-election two days after the filing deadline had passed. The maneuver left only García on the ballot, forcing progressive candidates Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Mayra Macías to run as independents.

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Critics called the maneuver an unfair attempt by Rep. García to tip the scales in his district’s next election. The House later passed a resolution of disapproval against him, led by fellow Democrat Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. Nearly two dozen House Democrats defied Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to vote in favor of the rebuke.

The measure passed 236 to 183, with 23 Democrats joining Republicans to rebuke Rep. García. Four lawmakers voted “present” — Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.

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García is a Chicago native and longtime Democratic political strategist who has served as Rep. García’s chief of staff since 2023. She is running on a progressive platform that closely mirrors her boss’s priorities and is pro-union and a staunch opponent of President Donald Trump.

Her campaign website states that immigration enforcement is “being used to terrorize working-class communities.” She has pledged to work to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with her website stating, “Patty has confronted abusive tactics head-on and will fight for dignity, due process, and to abolish ICE so families can live without fear.”

The general election in District 4 will be a clash among progressives. Sigcho-Lopez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a socialist political group that has seen a resurgence in American politics with the election of figures such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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Meanwhile, Macías states on her campaign website that she is running for Congress “because everything she has fought for is being rolled back and the community that raised her is being directly targeted by the Trump Administration.”

Illinois Republicans on Tuesday selected Don Tracy as their nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat created by Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement, sending them into a general election race in a state Democrats have long dominated at the federal level.

Former Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy entered the race as one of the best-known Republicans in the field and quickly emerged as an early fundraising leader. 

His campaign focused on lowering living costs through market competition, greater consumer choice and negotiated prescription drug prices.

Tracy is seeking the seat being vacated by Durbin, the Senate’s longtime No. 2 Democrat, who announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, ending a Senate tenure that began with his election in 1996 and setting off a scramble in both parties for one of Illinois’ highest-profile offices.

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The Republican primary field also included attorney Jeannie Evans, businessman Casey Chlebek, R. Cary Capparelli, Pamela Long and Jimmy Lee Tillman.

Polls in Illinois closed at 7 p.m. Central on Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton are competing to succeed Durbin. 

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has thrown his sizable war chest behind Stratton in a primary that is viewed as a test of his political clout in his home state as he likely gears up for a 2028 presidential run. The governor has seen his national profile skyrocket over the past year as he’s become a top Democrat leading the resistance to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

Meanwhile, Krishnamoorthi is the clear fundraising frontrunner in the race and has spent big bucks to run ads. And a super PAC funded by crypto titans has shelled out nearly $10 million to back him.

Tracy now advances to the general election, where he will try to compete in a state that has trended decisively Democratic in federal contests. Indeed, whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be considered the clear front-runner in the general election in a state where no GOP contender has won statewide in a dozen years.