President Donald Trump [AP=Yonhap News]

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Senate Republicans on March 23 (local time) to link the budget bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is currently in a shutdown, with legislation mandating voter identification at the polls.

In a speech at the 'Memphis Safety Task Force Roundtable' event in Memphis, Tennessee, President Trump criticized Democrats for blocking the DHS budget and said, "I strongly suggest to the Republicans. Do not make any deals. The most important thing we can have is the SAVE AMERICA Act."

He emphasized, "Do not make any deal if it does not include a voter ID system."

The 'SAVE AMERICA Act' mentioned by President Trump is legislation related to the voter identification system.

The core of the bill is to require voters in U.S. states to present voter identification and proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and to prohibit mail-in voting except for specific reasons.

Earlier, on March 8, President Trump stated that the bill should be the top priority for Congress, saying, "I will not sign any other bill until this bill is passed."

He specifically mentioned that in addition to election-related content, the bill should also include prohibitions on men participating in women's sports and on gender reassignment surgery for children.

In his speech on this day, President Trump said, "We are talking about two separate issues, but they are the same. Voter ID is part of homeland security, and proof of citizenship is also part of homeland security. Therefore, I think this bill should be combined and put to a vote together."

However, to pass the bill package in the Senate, overcoming the opposition's filibuster requires 60 votes. With only 53 Republican senators, it is impossible to pass the bill unless at least 7 Democratic senators' votes are secured, assuming no internal party opposition.

In this regard, President Trump said, "It would be great if we could get rid of the filibuster. Let's get rid of the filibuster and get everything done."

President Trump also told the senators, who are about to go into a two-week Easter recess at the end of this week, "I ask the Republican senators to take care of this immediately. There is no need to rush to a vote. Don't worry about Easter or going home. Actually, do this one thing for Jesus."

Meanwhile, in his speech, President Trump mentioned that Memphis is also famous for being the home of "The King of Rock and Roll," Elvis Presley's mansion, Graceland, and said, "I really love Elvis. I met Frank Sinatra, but I never met Elvis."

He visited Graceland himself after the event, where he discussed the decrease in crime rates in Memphis since the launch of his second-term administration, saying, "Elvis would be very happy about that too," the White House pool reporters reported.