House GOP leadership has pulled an expected vote series slated for Wednesday afternoon after a GOP revolt threatened to bring the floor to a standstill.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has pledged to vote against procedural measures to bring legislature to the House floor until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act. Luna said she and fellow GOP members have enough votes to sink any legislation put on the House floor by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
A group of House Republicans has repeatedly threatened to oppose any legislation sent from the Senate, but Luna’s vow on Tuesday to oppose even bringing votes to the House floor represented a significant escalation of her pressure campaign.
“The House GOP is attempting to move a Senate Bill with NO VOTER ID and NO SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Luna wrote on X on Tuesday. “I will have to be a NO on rules for this week (and maybe even longer) if they don’t stop the games. I am not the only one. Other House Members are frustrated at the games being played. This is a problem.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) joined Luna in her threat, saying he will “oppose other bills AND rules” until Republicans “fight for SAVE,” as well as a myriad of other issues. The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a voter ID to cast a ballot.
On their own, the two members would not be able to bring the House to a standstill; however, Luna told Punchbowl News she has the support of other Republican lawmakers.
“The floor is not going to be open this week,” Luna told the outlet.
Shortly after Luna’s comments were posted, House GOP leadership pulled the scheduled vote series. GOP leadership is expected to try to move forward with the vote series later today, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has been under increased pressure from President Donald Trump to pass the SAVE America Act, but has maintained that the votes aren’t there, even if the Senate were to move to do so.
Tensions flared in the Senate last week among some Republicans toward Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a leading author and proponent of the SAVE Act, another version of the flagship voter ID legislation, with his colleagues accusing him of misleading Trump on the Senate’s ability to pass a measure that has repeatedly failed in floor votes.
LUNA AND ROY VOW TO OPPOSE ALL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION UNTIL SENATE PASSES VOTER ID BILL
Trump shocked Congress on Wednesday by canceling a planned signing of a landmark bipartisan housing legislation, just hours before the ceremony, to demand that the Senate pass the 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 said on social media. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”