Senate Held a Covered Wagon Parade for a Bulldog While Voter ID Sits Dead

Jim Justice built a covered wagon and marched his bulldog through the halls of the United States Senate.

Across the Capitol, Senate Republicans still don't have the votes to pass basic voter ID.

One is a seven year old bulldog and the other is the voter ID bill nobody can pass.

Justice's Bulldog Gets a Covered Wagon While the SAVE Act Waits

On September 23, Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia threw a full production birthday party for his English bulldog, Babydog.

Staffers hung a billboard outside his office reading "Babydog's 7th Birthday Rodeo."

Staffers pushed the wagon carrying the birthday dog straight down the corridors of the Hart Senate Office Building.

Hundreds of aides packed the hallway, filming the spectacle on their phones.

Babydog's actual birthday isn't until October 15, but Justice moved the party up because the Senate won't be in session that day.

That's right – lawmakers scheduled around the dog's calendar before they scheduled around the country's election security.

This wasn't a one-time stunt either.

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Justice threw an identical bash for Babydog's sixth birthday in October of 2025, and Roll Call reported over 200 staffers showed up in the middle of a government shutdown to watch the dog wear a pink tutu.

Two years running, the Senate has found time for a bulldog's birthday and no time for a photo ID at the polls.

The Bill Needs Sixty Votes and Democrats Refuse to Give Nine

The legislation at the center of all this is the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID at the polls nationwide.

Republicans hold roughly 51 votes in the Senate.

Ending a filibuster takes 60.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already branded the bill "Jim Crow era" voter ID, giving his caucus their talking point and their excuse to hold the line at zero.

President Trump has made the stakes plain: "We should have voter ID, by the way … who would not want voter ID? Only somebody that wants to cheat."

Wisconsin's Ron Johnson has openly backed forcing a talking filibuster to get the bill across the floor.

House conservatives have run out of patience watching party leadership sit on the sidelines.

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Florida's Byron Donalds said it in three words: "The Senate sucks."

Maryland's Andy Harris went further, calling the upper chamber "too lazy to do America's business right now."

Nine votes stand between Americans and a national law requiring proof of identity at the ballot box, and Chuck Schumer's caucus won't provide a single one of them.

Washington's Priorities Problem Isn't New and It Isn't Accidental

Jim Justice isn't the villain here – a birthday party for a dog is harmless.

The problem is what the party represents when a covered wagon can roll through the Capitol on command but a voter ID bill cannot get a floor vote after years of trying.

This is the same Senate that let Babydog's sixth birthday draw a bigger crowd than most hearings during an actual government shutdown, proof that dysfunction and spectacle now run on the same clock.

This is the same Senate that held “Doggi Gras” this spring.

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John Thune's Senate has the majority and still won't force Democrats to stand on the floor for a talking filibuster and defend blocking voter ID in public.

That reluctance is the real story, because a talking filibuster would put every Schumer ally on camera explaining why proof of citizenship is too much to ask.

Instead, leadership lets the bill die quietly in the cloakroom while a bulldog gets a rodeo theme and a billboard.

Voters who already suspect Washington cares more about its rituals than their ballot security just watched the Senate prove it in real time.

Sources:

• Nikki Main, "Sen. Jim Justice Throws Huge Birthday Party for His Dog on Capitol Hill," Washington Examiner, September 24, 2026.
• TMZ Staff, "Jim Justice Dog Birthday Party," TMZ, September 23, 2026.
• BizPacReview Staff, "Um, SAVE ACT?!? Senator Throws Big Birthday Bash on the Hill for His 'BABYDOG'," BizPacReview, September 25, 2026.
• Fox News Staff, "Republicans, Trump Run Into Senate Roadblock on Voter ID Bill," Fox News, 2026.
• Roll Call Staff, "'The Senate Sucks': Chambers Clash Over Voter ID Bill Inaction," Roll Call, June 25, 2026.
• Roll Call Staff, "What Are They Waiting in Line For? Babydog's Birthday," Roll Call, October 15, 2025.