GOP's new election model: Colombia

Senate Republicans are elevating Colombia as a role model in their push for stricter voting rules in the U.S. — and using California as their foil.

Why it matters: Republicans don't have the votes to jam through President Trump's SAVE Act, but some conservatives are using Colombia's election system to keep the up the pressure on GOP leaders.

• Colombia just elected Abelardo de la Espriella, a populist business owner who secured President Trump's endorsement. The country requires voters to present a national I.D. card, relies on paper ballots and does not generally allow mail-in voting.
• Republicans want the U.S. to follow suit.

What we're hearing: Some GOP senators are considering a hearing with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Colombia officials to compare election processes, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) told Donald Trump Jr. on a podcast.

• "We always first invite before we consider a subpoena," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) told Axios, when asked about the possibility of subpoenaing Newsom for such a hearing.
• Johnson, who chairs the Homeland Security subcommittee on investigations, said Republicans still need to determine the best witnesses "to contrast the Colombian election with the fiasco in California."
• "Colombia just had an election with only paper ballots, no mail-in ballots, voter ID, proof of citizenship. They counted the ballots in three hours. That sounds like what President Trump has been proposing," Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote in a Dear Colleague letter ahead of Senate Republicans' lunch with Trump on Wednesday.

Behind the scenes: At a closed-door lunch Tuesday, Moreno told senators that Colombian officials were confused when he asked what happens if someone shows up to vote without an ID, because it doesn't happen, sources familiar with the lunch told Axios.

• Moreno was in Colombia during the country's election last week.

Between the lines: Trump has blown up the congressional schedule with his demands that lawmakers pass the SAVE America Act, which requires voter ID, proof of citizenship for registration and restricts mail-in voting.

• There is no clear path for passing such a bill through the Senate, with Democrats opposed and even some Republicans uncomfortable with the mail-in voting measures in particular.
• That has not stopped Trump allies from continuing to push for federal voting reforms.