Senate Republicans have given in to President Donald Trump’s demands to add a slate of anti-trans amendments to a bill that would upend federal elections if passed.

Since early March, Trump has said that he would not sign any bills until the SAVE America Act — a sweeping bill that would require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote, show photo ID at the polls and gut mail-in voting — was passed with language that would bar transgender women from sports and restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors.

Republicans conceded late Tuesday evening, adding several amendments that target trans rights.

The bill has little chance of actually becoming law. Democrats are unified in their opposition to it, and even many Republicans are skeptical. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has called it “a waste of time,” and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has acknowledged that the bill does not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Voting rights and LGBTQ+ advocates said the addition of the anti-trans provisions are concerning nonetheless.

One proposed amendment would create criminal provisions for doctors who provide gender-affirming care, including prescribing puberty blockers or hormones, to transgender youth. The bill would penalize doctors with a fine or up to 10 years in prison. The amendment to criminalize gender-affirming care mirrors language from a bill by former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that stalled in the House.

Another SAVE America Act amendment would bar transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams.

“The Senate majority knows that this bill will never get the votes it needs to pass, but they are nevertheless attempting to appease President Trump by taking cheap shots at transgender people,” Caius Willingham, a senior policy analyst at Advocates for Trans Equality, told HuffPost in a statement, noting the amendments could impact more than just transgender people.

“It would also severely impact working-class people, people of color, young people, and anyone else who cannot afford to pay document fees and take time off work to register to vote in person.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) on Tuesday said in a statement that he “worked closely” with Trump to amend the bill in light of the president’s “priorities to restore election integrity, keep men out of women’s sports, and protect children from gender mutilation surgeries.”

Schmitt’s office did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

The SAVE America Act had raised alarm among trans rights activists, even before the introduction of the new amendments. The bill would require voters to provide significant documentation to vote, including a current ID and a birth certificate or adoption paperwork. Many people, including transgender people and many married women, may not have documents that match their current legal names.

“Now, Republicans are slipping in anti-trans amendments to further their authoritarian agenda.” Tyler Hack, the executive director of trans rights policy organization Christopher Street Project, said in a statement. “Republicans in Congress want to send us back to the era where D.C. politicians get to choose who can vote and who cannot. This bill is anti-American, anti-trans, and threatens to dismantle the bedrock of our democracy.”

If passed, these provisions would go into effect immediately and likely cause confusion and chaos as states roll out the updates ahead of the November midterm elections.

The Republicans’ recent anti-trans additions to the bill come as the Trump administration continues to target transgender rights. Already, Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from school districts that have allowed trans athletes to participate in school sports and from medical institutions that offer gender-affirming care to youth, even in states where there are no legal restrictions.

Earlier this month, Kansas retroactively invalidated the driver’s licenses of 1,700 transgender residents, as the state passed a law barring trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses. Later this year, voters in four states will decide whether to ban transgender girls from school sports.

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