Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) is promoting a new bill that would prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections. In a show of solidarity and support, former President Donald Trump invited Johnson to talk about this piece of voting integrity at Mar-a-Lago last Friday.

In reporting on the event, Leftmedia outlets like The Hill and USA Today criticized the move as unnecessary. (Only certain cities allow noncitizen votes in non-federal elections.) In fact, the refrain in outlet after outlet is, It’s already illegal and very rare.

If it’s illegal, shouldn’t it be nonexistent?

Republicans are familiar enough with the Left’s slippery-slope arguments that they recognize gaslighting when they see it. They hope to head this one off at the pass on arguably the most important issue of our day — the integrity of elections. Aren’t we supposed to “save our democracy”?

There is nothing wrong with being preventative and clear when it comes to voting in federal elections. This should be an easy “Yes” vote for lawmakers. After all, if it’s a non-issue, as these leftist outlets claim, then further clarifying the law shouldn’t be a problem. However, when one considers Biden’s border disaster and the sheer number of illegal immigrants (noncitizens) who are currently in the country, such a step seems less inane and more urgent.

This move by Johnson and Trump is also an important signal to the rest of the House Republicans. Johnson has been under threat of ouster from Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), who is displeased with his efforts to wheel and deal and pass legislation, claiming he makes too many concessions to the Democrats.

Until this gesture by Trump, Johnson was having to tread very carefully. He already faced condemnation from his fractious GOP caucus when they initially scuttled the FISA renewal last week. This public show of unity between the 2024 presumptive Republican nominee and the current speaker of the House is a slap on the wrist for the Trump-loving Greene and a call for greater unity within the party.

What better way to start unifying the GOP than by addressing the various issues surrounding voter integrity? A lot of hanky-panky was allowed to occur in the 2020 presidential election because of the COVID black-swan event and subsequent lockdowns.

Frankly, voter integrity is the number one problem that needs to be solved in the upcoming election. It’s a wise and solid first step for Johnson to be working on a bill that would block votes from noncitizens. The next step is coming from new RNC Chair Michael Whatley.

Whatley’s boots-on-the-ground efforts to hold states accountable, lobby for legislation to block bulk-mail balloting, and enforce voter ID laws will help restore some trust in the voting process. If Republicans win in the fall, it will be due to efforts like Trump’s, Johnson’s, and Whatley’s to ensure free and fair elections in the United States.