Trump tells House GOP hard-liners to end blockade over flagship voter ID bill
President Donald Trump called on House Republicans to unify and advance legislation after a GOP blockade disrupted their agenda. Following a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump criticized House members for threatening procedural votes and urged them to stop, emphasizing the importance of passing key bills like the voter ID measure, the SAVE America Act. House GOP leadership was forced to cancel votes and send the House home without progressing on important legislation, including appropriations and defense bills, due to rebellion within the party. Some members, like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, proposed attaching the voter ID bill to other legislation, though this risks sinking the bill in the Senate where Democrats oppose it. Meanwhile, House GOP hard-liners pressure the Senate to pass the legislation, criticizing Senate Republicans and threatening to withhold support until the bill is passed. Trump and House members are also holding hostages other bipartisan bills, such as a housing measure, until the voter ID legislation passes. Senate Majority Leader john Thune expressed skepticism about the bill passing in the Senate,highlighting the ongoing intra-party conflicts and legislative standoff.
President Donald Trump urged House Republicans to unify and allow legislation to move forward on the floor after a GOP blockade derailed leadership’s agenda this week.
Following a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Trump said Republicans should stop threatening to vote down procedural rule votes in the House after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) vowed to lead a revolt until the Senate moved on the SAVE America Act, the GOP’s flagship voter ID bill.
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“Giving power to the Radical Left Dumocrats in the House to control what goes up for a Vote will make our outcomes worse, not better,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “No more grandstanding, please! They are the Dumocrats, and we can’t let them WIN!”
House GOP leadership was forced to punt on a planned procedural rule vote on Wednesday as GOP rebels threatened to bring the floor to a standstill. By Thursday, a resolution to the battle remained out of sight, forcing Johnson to cancel votes on Friday and send the House home for the week without voting on the procedural measure to unlock the floor.
Johnson, while on his way to meet with Trump, told reporters, “We’re in an era with small margins and small majorities, and we’ve got to get things moving.”
“We passed the SAVE Act three times in the House,” Johnson said. “We’ll do it again. We’re working on that, and I’m going to talk with the president about these issues and how to get the agenda moving again, and it’s going to be very productive.”
The GOP blockade has effectively prevented House GOP leadership from advancing key legislative items, including two appropriations bills this week, and threatens the passage of an annual defense bill next week if it does not come to an end.
Shortly after Trump’s post, Luna said she filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to attach the voter ID bill.
“This is how to get my vote on a rule,” Luna posted on X. “But I am one of MANY.”
The House Rules Committee is expected to meet on Monday to consider the amendments and the bill itself, but if Luna’s amendment is attached to the annual bill, it risks sinking the legislation in the Senate, where Democrats would be certain to oppose the measure, preventing it from reaching the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
The monthslong cross-chamber GOP feud over the SAVE America Act rapidly intensified this week as House GOP hard-liners attempted to pressure the Senate to pass the legislation.
During a House Freedom Caucus press conference Thursday morning to demand the Senate take up the SAVE America Act, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told reporters bluntly, “The Senate sucks.”
“I’m just gonna come out and say it, they suck,” said Donalds, who is running for Florida governor.
He continued, “What is happening in the U.S. Senate is laziness, and quite frankly, it’s disgusting.”
Senate Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning any legislation generally needs Democrats to cross over for it to become law. But House Republicans who want to see the SAVE America Act passed are pressuring the Senate GOP to pass the legislation anyway, either through a Senate procedure called the “talking filibuster” or by eliminating the filibuster altogether.
Trump has also joined the pressure campaign by announcing he would hold a bipartisan housing bill passed by both chambers of Congress hostage until the Senate passes the legislation.
LUNA AND ROY VOW TO OPPOSE ALL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION UNTIL SENATE PASSES VOTER ID BILL
“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” the president posted on Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has maintained that the votes aren’t there even if the Senate were to move to do so.
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