Mike Johnson Unveils ‘Irresistible’ Plan to Pass SAVE America Act
House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to incorporate the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act into a budget reconciliation package alongside significant military funding and other priorities. However, this effort faces political hurdles, including the challenge of bypassing the Senate filibuster and obtaining support from House Republican holdouts. Johnson believes the bill can be crafted to garner unanimous Republican support, though some members have proposed adding clauses such as a $4 billion grant to encourage voter ID and citizenship checks, which may not be approved by Senate rules.
There is internal disagreement within Congress, wiht some Republicans demanding large spending cuts in exchange for backing the bill, making it unlikely to pass with bipartisan support before the November midterm elections. The House has already recessed early after a faction opposed discussing attaching the bill to the National Defense authorization Act (NDAA). Johnson had discussions with President Trump, who prefers a version that includes bans on mail-in ballots, and Trump pressured Republicans to unite.
Additionally, the Senate has been cautious about passing another reconciliation package, with some senators suggesting recesses should be canceled to push the bill through. the legislative process is complex and constrained by political divisions and approaching election deadlines.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act will likely face several political barriers.
Johnson announced his plan to include the SAVE America Act in a budget reconciliation package alongside $350 billion for the Pentagon and other spending priorities. This move would be difficult to achieve since it would aim to bypass the Senate filibuster and require support from House Republican holdouts.
“What we’re planning to do is send over a bill that will be irresistible for any Republican,” Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“Every Republican would vote for that if packaged correctly, and that’s what we’re planning to do right now.”
House Republicans floated the idea of including a $4 billion grant program in the reconciliation package to encourage states to adopt voter identification and check the citizenship of every voter, according to Punchbowl News. It is unclear whether the Senate parliamentarian would approve this measure.
The holdouts would likely demand tens of billions in spending cuts to social programs, which would likely not receive support from moderate Republicans and Democrats ahead of November’s midterm elections, according to Punchbowl News.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune appeared skeptical in June of passing a third reconciliation package, saying it would be a major challenge to pass it through the upper chamber.
Both chambers have limited time to pass major legislation before the midterm elections in November. The House entered an early recess Tuesday after 14 Republicans voted against a procedural vote to debate attaching the SAVE America Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, demanded the SAVE America Act be added to the NDAA’s text.
Luna argued the “MIRVing” process would allow the Senate to strip out the SAVE America Act entirely, though Johnson argued the upper chamber could also strip it from the NDAA’s text.
Johnson met with President Donald Trump to defuse the situation with the holdouts Thursday. Trump called on Republicans to unite and not vote against any rules in a Thursday post.
The speaker’s version did not include a full ban on mail-in ballots. Trump repeatedly stated that he does not support versions of the SAVE America Act without bans on mail-in ballots. Johnson argued Trump would accept a version of the bill without a ban on mail-in ballots.
The Senate entered recess early on June 25 after Senate Republicans attended a heated lunch with Trump the previous day. Trump pressured the lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act and railed against the passage of a concurrent Iran war powers resolution. Any member of the Senate could have objected to or blocked the adjournment, though no one did.
Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama suggested the Senate should cancel the recess to pass the SAVE America Act. Thune and other Republicans insisted the chamber lacked the necessary votes to pass it.
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