A MAGA senator got relentlessly mocked on social media for making a bizarre claim about shoveling snow in a deep blue city.
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, 44, used New York City’s snow as an example of why Americans should support the SAVE Act, a controversial measure that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and largely scrap mail-in ballots in elections.
“We want to make sure that Americans have faith in their elections,” she said on Capitol Hill on Thursday. “We want to make sure that they are free, fair, and secure. If Americans don’t have faith, it undermines the very pillars that hold up our democracy. And we know the best way to do that is to require ID.”
She went on to list examples of situations where Americans would need an ID, which, according to her, includes shoveling snow in New York City.
“You can’t rent a home, you can’t go to work, you can’t shovel snow in New York City without an ID,” she said. “So I’m pretty sure as we look to try to achieve the American dream, whether that’s getting insurance, whether that’s getting a car, whether that’s signing your kid up for school, you need an ID.”
The comment quickly drew backlash online.
“You can, in fact, shovel snow without any ID… as anyone outside of Alabama could tell you. Now if you want to get paid for it, like in NYC, bring some paperwork,” author Hemant Mehta pointed out.
“Shoveling snow in New York City now requires ID?” singer Nikos Unity said. “Republicans really do just say things and hope nobody in the room has ever been outside. New York City has enough problems without Katie Britt hallucinating a Department of Sidewalk Identification.”
“All those times that I’ve wanted to shovel the sidewalk in front of my building in New York and have been told by the doorman, ‘NO! Not until you show me your passport or birth certificate,’” Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky quipped.
Britt appeared to be taking her cue from President Donald Trump, who made fun of a New York City requirement to present a photo ID for anyone who wanted to get hired as an emergency snow shoveler ahead of a blizzard last month.
Reached for comment, Britt’s office confirmed that this is what the senator was referring to.
Trump, 79, commented on the requirement during his State of the Union address.
“Even the new communist mayor of New York City—I think he’s a nice guy, [I] actually speak to him a lot. Bad policy, but nice guy—just said they want people to shovel snow,” he said. “But if you apply for that job, you need to show two original forms of ID and a Social Security card. Yet they don’t want identification for the greatest privilege of them all: voting in America.”
Following the criticism, Mamdani underscored that federal law requires identification for anyone who is paid for their work.
“We’re just following longstanding city policies,” he told Spectrum News.
Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.
