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White House dishes out new election security jab over Olive Garden’s pasta pass ID policy

White House dishes out new election security jab over Olive Garden’s pasta pass ID policy

After a popular Italian restaurant chain dished out an online response to a curious diner about its new unlimited pasta pass, politically-minded social media users, including those at the top of the food chain, are taking a stand. Olive Garden took to X on Wednesday to promote its new deal, which offers customers the chance purchase a “Never Ending Pasta Pass” for $100 plus tax, giving the first 10,000 people to purchase their pass 13 weeks of unlimited pasta. A user posed a question to the iconic American restaurant chain, asking whether they could purchase the unlimited pasta pass and share it with their family. WATCH: ELISSA SLOTKIN SAYS SAVE AMERICA ACT WOULD MAKE IT ‘HARD FOR ANY DEMOCRAT’ TO WIN AN ELECTION “No. The Never-Ending Pasta Pass is only for use by the Passholder whose name is printed on the Pass,” Olive Garden replied. “Passes are personalized and non-transferable.” “Passholders must present a valid photo I.D. along with the Pass at the time of ordering,” the chain instructed from its X account. Immediately, the political right seized the opportunity to prove a point — that Olive Garden appears more strict about its unlimited pasta promotion than Democrat-run states are about voting. The timely post comes as Trump continues to push for what would be a signature legislative victory — the SAVE Act — which, if passed, would require photo identification to vote. It has faced fierce pushback from the left-wing, who have argued against requiring proof of identity to cast a ballot in elections. “Olive Garden takes their Pasta Pass security more seriously than Democrats take election security,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “It’s sad but true.” “The SAVE America Act is a commonsense police, supported by the vast majority of Americans, that will secure our elections for generations to come. The only people opposed seem to be Democrats in Congress… I wonder why?” she added. WATCH: MCCARTHY SAYS TRUMP WILL USE ‘EVERYTHING HE CAN’ TO FORCE SENATE ACTION ON SAVE AMERICA ACT The social media post quickly caused an online feeding frenzy. “PUT OLIVE GARDEN IN CHARGE OF OUR ELECTIONS!!!” one popular X account quipped. “I hope you understand that this is extremely discriminatory towards minorities and married women,” one user said, parroting talking points that the political left has used in opposition of the SAVE Act. MEMPHIS PIZZA JOINT SPARKS BACKLASH AFTER OWNER REFUSES TO SERVE NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS Another user also mockingly used the common parlance of the political left in response to Olive Garden’s strict policy. “I’m sorry, but this sounds incredibly racist to me, a requirement ID and some sort of proof of being a passholder will negatively affect marginalized communities ability to access Olive Garden,” wrote the sarcastic user. “Do better Olive Garden.” “Are you saying that if photo ID is not presented, it could lead to cheating the system?” another social media user asked. “Good grief, Olive Garden is more secure than our elections,” said yet another. Since Republicans in the House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act in February, the bill has faced major obstruction by Democrats in the Senate, as the conservative lawmakers don’t have the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster. Earlier this week, SAVE Act language was attached to a State Department appropriations bill in a creative attempt to pass the law.

WATCH: Minnesota fraud scandal takes absurd new twist as veteran blows whistle

WATCH: Minnesota fraud scandal takes absurd new twist as veteran blows whistle

EXCLUSIVE: Navy veteran and GOP Senate candidate Adam Schwarze is blowing the whistle on new voter fraud evidence uncovered in the state of Minnesota.  What tipped him off? The state says that he voted in person at the polls in the 2012 presidential election. The only problem is that Schwarze says that “it was physically impossible for that to occur.” Schwarze said that at the time he was nearly 2,000 miles away in the California mountains attending BUD/S, the Navy’s elite training course for SEALs. In fact, Schwarze recalled “I got my a– beat” specifically for not voting. “All the instructors, the morning after the election, we woke up, Obama won the election, and they said, ‘Who didn’t do their absentee voting?’ And of course it was like a gotcha, none of the SEAL candidates had gone to do their absentee voting. We were all in SEAL training, right? So, they beat the snot out of us for three hours.” TRUMP ELECTION INTEGRITY PUSH EXPOSES MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DEAD PEOPLE ON NORTH CAROLINA VOTER ROLLS Despite this, Minnesota state records reviewed by Fox News Digital indicate Schwarze voted in 2012. The records, however, do not say who he supposedly cast a ballot for. This has led Schwarze to raise serious voter fraud questions in the already-scandal-ridden state and ask if it happened to him, how many others have “voted” without knowing it. Minnesota does not require ID to vote, something that Schwarze believes would have made it easy to vote under his name in 2012. He was completely oblivious to this fraud against him until he launched his Senate campaign. After a reporter fact-checked him for saying he had only ever voted for President Donald Trump, he was shocked to find that records on the Minnesota Department of State’s website indeed indicate he voted in person in 2012. Further, records indicate an unknown person registered him to vote the day of the 2009 Minneapolis mayoral election, which was the city’s first election using ranked choice voting. His voter registration became active the day after the 2009 Minneapolis mayoral election. In response to Fox News Digital’s request for clarification on Schwarze’s voting record, a spokesperson for the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon simply said that “Minnesota’s election system is governed by extensive state and federal laws to ensure it is honest, secure, and accurate.” “Minnesotans fundamentally trust our election system, which is why we are consistently number one in voter turnout,” the spokesperson said, adding that “In 2026, Minnesota ranked #1 by Election Data and Science Lab at the MIT on the Election Performance Index is a non-partisan, biennial survey and analysis comparing election administration policy and performance across the country.” The spokesperson encouraged “anyone who wants to learn more about the election security measures in Minnesota” to visit the state’s election security webpage.  The website also asserts that “Minnesota elections are the envy of the nation,” and states, “We are proud of our strong voter turnout, laws that ensure access to the ballot, robust security measures, and the transparency that’s an essential part of maintaining trust in the system.” Meanwhile, Schwarze believes that this shows that “just like the fraud goes back decades, so does the voter integrity issues.” Schwarze commissioned as a Navy officer in May 2012. He was sent to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado for training the next month. Fox News Digital reviewed a copy of Schwarze’s BUD/S orders, which show his report date for the roughly six-month course as June 12, putting his graduation from the course in December. VANCE REFERS TIM WALZ, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL TO DOJ FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER STATE’S ALLEGED FRAUD Come November, when the presidential election took place, Schwarze said: “I was on a mountain in Mount Laguna, California.” “It was physically impossible for that [vote] to occur,” he said. This comes after Minnesota has been rocked by a widespread Medicaid fraud scandal that was uncovered earlier this year and potentially amounted to billions of stolen tax dollars. Minnesota’s top leaders, including Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is also running for the U.S. Senate, have been criticized nationwide for having allowed the fraud to spiral out of control during their watch. To Schwarze, the tax and election fraud go hand in hand. “The fraud of your tax dollars is not happening in a vacuum. It’s connected to other forms of fraud, like election integrity,” he said. “Just like the fraud is an iceberg, the tax fraud, once we start rolling that iceberg over, we don’t know how big it gets until we fully investigate it.” “We just don’t know how deep this goes,” he continued. EXPOSED DOCS REVEAL WHY TIM WALZ BOARD AWARDED REPEAT CHILD RAPIST PARDON: ‘NO FUTURE’ Since he discovered his mysterious vote, Schwarze said that his requests to state officials for more information have yet to be fulfilled. He said he does not even know who he is marked as having voted for. “This clearly shows that we have an election integrity issue in our state,” he said. “So, let’s solve the problem. Let’s open up the voting log: [Minnesota Secretary of State] Steve Simon, Tim Walz, Peggy Flanagan, Keith Ellison. Let’s have same-day voting in person with paper … with an ID; the American citizens want that as well. That’s my plea.” “I’ve fought my entire life for the United States of America. I fought for democracy all over the world,” he continued. “And one of the pillars and foundational principles of democracy is free, fair and transparent elections, and we don’t have any of those things right now in the United States of America.” Fox News Digital reached out to Walz, Flanagan, Simon and Ellison for comment.

Olive Garden becomes unlikely face of voter ID fight after restaurant’s policy goes viral

Olive Garden becomes unlikely face of voter ID fight after restaurant’s policy goes viral

Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Pass sparked an unlikely political firestorm after conservatives applauded the restaurant’s photo ID requirement, arguing the policy is stricter than voting laws in some Democrat-led states. “Olive Garden requires ID to use their never ending pasta pass but most Democrat run states don’t require your ID to vote. So in America, our pasta deals are literally more secure than our elections. Maddening and hilarious at the same time,” one conservative commentator, Robby Starbuck, wrote on X. Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Pass gives customers unlimited meals, but the restaurant requires passholders to present a valid photo ID matching the name printed on the pass when ordering. Conservatives swiftly shared the restaurant’s X post announcing the policy, praising it and drawing comparisons to the broader debate over voter ID requirements. “The Never-Ending Pasta Pass is only for use by the Passholder whose name is printed on the Pass. Passes are personalized and non-transferable. Passholders must present a valid photo I.D. along with the Pass at the time of ordering,” the restaurant posted to X on Thursday. GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL “Olive Garden takes their Pasta Pass security more seriously than Democrats take election security,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “It’s sad but true.” “The SAVE America Act is a commonsense police, supported by the vast majority of Americans, that will secure our elections for generations to come. The only people opposed seem to be Democrats in Congress… I wonder why?” she added. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., do not require most voters to present identification when voting in person. The SAVE Act includes President Donald Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification guardrails — which Republicans say is key to ensuring elections are safe and secure. “We really live in a nation where Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Pass is more secure than our elections! Make it make sense. Pass the SAVE America Act,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote on X. “American elections should not be less secure than Olive Garden’s endless pasta. Pass the SAVE America Act,” wrote Utah Sen. Mike Lee on X. WATCH: HAWLEY FUMES AFTER 4 GOP SENATORS HELP SINK TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID LAW “Only in America do you need a photo ID for bottomless pasta at Olive Garden, but not to vote,” said conservative influencer Isabel Brown. “If you have to show ID to eat pasta at Olive Garden, you should have to show ID to vote,” posted the official RNC Election Integrity account. “Olive Garden’s never-ending pasta pass is more secure than our federal elections. Make sense to anyone? Pass the SAVE America Act,” wrote Arizona Rep. Eli Crane. REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS President Donald Trump addressed the nation Thursday evening on “free and fair” elections urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act. “I ask you to pick up your phone tomorrow, call your representatives and the House and Senate, and demand that they pass the Save America Act without delay. Together, we will restore faith and confidence in our country, and we will be bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” said Trump. Trump has tried to attach the stalled election legislation to defense spending, holding housing legislation hostage and playing Senate primary politics. Republicans are running against the clock to pass the stalled elections bill before the party’s midterm window narrows.

Battleground Democrat said traditionally White outdoor spaces ‘will no longer be White’

Battleground Democrat said traditionally White outdoor spaces ‘will no longer be White’

A vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in a battleground district repeatedly complained that outdoor recreation has long been dominated by White males and called for “equitable access” to those spaces, according to unearthed podcast appearances reviewed by Fox News Digital. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., who previously referred to New Mexico as “stolen land,” praised national conservation organizations during a June 2020 appearance on the “Mountain & Prairie” podcast for adopting what he described as more “equitable” policies aimed at expanding access to the outdoors for people of color. “People of color are getting outdoors,” Vasquez said in remarks first reported by The Daily Wire. “There’s amazing organizations out there that are just promoting diversity amongst the outdoors and big national organizations that are slowly and finally starting to get it and actually promote policies that create more equitable access and opportunities.” “Spaces that have been traditionally White will no longer be White,” Vasquez continued. “Secret spots will no longer be secret. And hunters and anglers and hikers and everybody in between will look different. And so, not only should you be OK with that, not only should you tolerate that, but you should embrace that.” IOWA DEM ADMITS BEING ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ WITH WHITENESS AS SHE SEEKS TO FLIP COMPETITIVE HOUSE SEAT “It’s up to us to be the change that we want to see,” he said. Later in the interview, the New Mexico Democrat criticized conservation groups that he said lacked diversity. “Today, I think every single executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation up until today has been a White male,” he said. “There’s no cultural connection, there’s no authentic desire to communicate or connect with Hispanic communities.” Vasquez in 2017 co-founded Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, a left-leaning organization devoted to making the outdoors more “equitable” and advancing environmental justice. He first won election to the House in 2022. The remarks come as Republicans have pointed to Vasquez’s comments on race and previous criticism of law enforcement to cast him as out of step with his majority-Hispanic district, which President Donald Trump carried by two points in 2024. Earlier this year, Vasquez voted against a GOP-authored resolution honoring law enforcement during National Police Week. The measure notably contained language criticizing the Defund the Police movement and sanctuary city policies. “This DEI-fueled racism is the exact woke nonsense New Mexico’s Second District rejected in 2024 when it elected President Donald Trump, and it will cost Vasquez at the ballot box in November as voters choose common sense over crazy,” Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital reached out to the Vasquez campaign for comment. In a 2020 interview, Vasquez argued that racism was ingrained into “just about every part of life,” Fox News Digital previously reported. In the same interview, Vasquez, who was then serving as a Las Cruces city councilmember, voiced openness to licensed psychologists taking over some of the police’s responsibilities. He also sharply criticized “White rich men” in a June 2020 tweet shortly after the death of George Floyd. “Black lives matter. Until we deconstruct and rebuild the systems of oppression that keep Black people in perpetual harm, justice will not be served,” he wrote.  “That includes law enforcement, the economy, and the disgusting wealth inequality that keeps white rich men in power.” Vasquez also appeared to back rioting during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 in a since-deleted tweet, CNN’s KFile first reported. UNEARTHED CLIP EXPOSES MORE ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC AS EL-SAYED GETS GRILLED FOR DELETING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS His focus on race also extended into conversations about outdoor recreation. In a June 2022 interview with “The Trail Ahead” podcast, Vasquez described Nuestra Tierra as “being led by people of color with an all-people-of-color board.” He told an anecdote where he claimed to have experienced racism and claimed White people received special treatment in conservation on the podcast. “I have missed out on a whole lot of opportunities just because I’ve asked for compensation, and it shouldn’t have to be that way,” he said. “Because if I was a White consultant working with a major brand or a major nonprofit, and they were seeking a solution they would pay me for my services. They would pay me for my advice.” “But it’s not the same the other way around,” he added. “People just expect people of color … what you have to say and what your thoughts are not of monetary value.” Vasquez will face Republican Greg Cunningham, a Marine veteran and retired police officer, in November’s general election. Cunningham is part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s flagship MAGA Majority program, which backs top recruits seeking to flip Democratic-held seats. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the race in Vasquez’s favor from “Toss Up” to “Lean Democrat” in January, citing Trump’s declining poll numbers and Democrats’ election wins in 2025.