WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is pressuring Republicans to shut down the government at the end of the month if Congress does not pass a GOP-backed proposal to establish new nationwide voting rules.

Trump has called on congressional Republicans to tie government funding to the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote — in an effort to target noncitizen voting, which is already illegal. And House Republican leaders are considering adopting that strategy and taking on Democrats.

The deadline to fund the government is September 30. The GOP-led House and Democratic-led Senate must agree on how to move forward to avoid a shutdown, and Democrats have denounced the SAVE Act as a poison pill.

“I would shut down the government in a heartbeat if they don’t get it,” Trump said on “The Monica Crowley Show” last week.

“It should be in the bill. And if it’s not in the bill, it should be shut down,” he said. “I’m not here, but you know, I have influence.”

The two parties are far from agreeing on a full-year government funding plan, meaning a continuing resolution, or CR, will be needed as a stopgap. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has not announced how he plans to handle the issue.

An aide to the House Republican leadership said Tuesday: that it is being considered to link it to the SAVE law in an attempt to unify the party.

“The length of the CR, as well as the bills that are attached to it, like the SAVE Act, could impact whether some Republicans, who are generally opposed to the spending measure, will vote for it,” the aide told NBC News, requesting anonymity to disclose internal considerations. “Conversations with members are ongoing this week. Nothing is final.”

This strategy is supported by the Freedom Caucus, a far-right party. Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy, a prominent member of the Freedom Caucus, has also been publicly to assert one’s point of view for that.

It’s a risky strategy that could lead to a shutdown on October 1 if Democrats don’t concede — and they’re unlikely to. Republicans have been accused in the past of provoking shutdowns by demanding passage of provisions they can’t get through the normal process.

Another source of tension between the parties: Conservatives in Congress want to pass a stopgap bill that extends through March 2025, in anticipation of a victory in this fall’s elections. But Democrats — and some leading Republicans — prefer to set a deadline to conclude negotiations this year.

The SAVE Act would require all voters to register to vote and prove their citizenship. Trump and his Republican allies argue that the measure is aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting. Johnson and Trump implemented the measure at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.

Democrats have slammed the bill, which has already passed the House as a standalone measure, as a “partisan scare tactic designed to erode confidence in our elections,” accusing the GOP of picking a fight over a non-issue — it is already illegal and very rare for non-citizens to vote.

The National Voter Registration Act of 1996 “requires states to use a common voter registration form that includes a certification under penalty of perjury that the applicant is a U.S. citizen,” the Bipartisan Policy Center concluded in a policy report. “Illegal attempts by noncitizens to register and vote are routinely investigated and prosecuted by state law enforcement, and there is no evidence that attempts by noncitizens to vote have been significant enough to impact the outcome of an election.”

Beyond the content of the SAVE Act, Democrats oppose the idea of ​​tying it to a funding bill.

“As we have said every time we have had a CR, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way and that is what has happened every time,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.

President Joe Biden also opposes the SAVE Act, with the White House saying it would “make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters will be removed from the voter rolls.”

Last week, Trump also suggested that congressional Republicans should demand “more than the SAVE Act,” suggesting there should also be a “border” component in the government funding bill.

“But you should get a lot more than the SAVE Act for that,” he said.