House Republican leadership is making a renewed effort to advance the SAVE America Act, a legislative priority that faced a significant setback last week due to a conservative revolt that halted floor proceedings. Despite the new strategy, several GOP lawmakers responsible for the previous blockade are expressing continued reluctance to support the proposed plan.
Procedural Maneuver Faces Internal Opposition
On Monday, the House Rules Committee approved a rule with an 8-4 vote that seeks to combine the annual defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with the election-focused SAVE America Act. This unusual procedural move aims to send the consolidated package to the Senate for consideration.
Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican and a member of the Rules Committee, notably did not cast a vote. Roy was among the conservative members who supported the floor blockade last week, which was tied to the SAVE Act. Meanwhile, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican who has been a prominent voice in the lower chamber's protest over the SAVE Act, expressed skepticism that the procedural tactic would compel action in the Senate. Instead, Luna advocated for the SAVE Act to be incorporated directly as an amendment to the defense legislation.
“The only way to ensure the Senate passes this is to make sure it’s in the bill text of the NDAA, meaning that my amendment(s) must be made an order,” the Florida Republican stated on social media. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but this is what 80% of Americans want and what we promised the American people, so I stand by my decision.”
This latest proposal from Speaker Johnson follows the rejection of his previous attempt last week to enact parts of the SAVE Act within a broader legislative package.
Speaker Johnson's Legislative Challenges
Given the Republican Party's narrow majority in the House, Speaker Johnson will likely require the support of these conservative holdouts to pass a rule later on Tuesday. This rule is crucial for setting up the chamber's vote on its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As procedural votes typically align along party lines, the Speaker can only afford a minimal number of defections from his own party.
Tuesday's scheduled vote also includes a spending bill designated to fund the State Department and other foreign operations for fiscal year 2027, alongside a resolution commemorating the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which Republicans now refer to as the Working Families Tax Cuts. A failure by Republican leadership to advance these legislative items could effectively halt House floor activity, potentially leading to an early recess for lawmakers ahead of the July 4 holiday.
Speaker Johnson issued a warning on Monday, stating that continuing the floor blockade would be a “self-defeating” strategy.
“It doesn't make any sense,” Johnson told reporters. “We have to move forward with legislation and that's what I'll be telling them all.”
Lawmakers Defend Their Stance
However, Representative Luna indicated her unwillingness to allow House floor proceedings to resume without firm assurances regarding the SAVE America Act’s prospects in the Senate.
“But to, you know, say that we're holding up the process. This is legislating,” Luna explained to reporters on Monday, standing alongside Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican who has also participated in the SAVE Act protest. “If people elected us to just come up here and vote in line with what the party wants, then it would be a whole lot different.”
Democratic Skepticism Regarding the Strategy
Democrats, who are hoping to see the rules package fail, have advised Republican holdouts to disregard their leadership’s proposal, arguing that it would be rejected by the Senate. Representative Jim McGovern, a Connecticut Democrat, articulated this view during the Rules Committee debate on Monday.
“Let me be clear, the Senate will just strip the SAVE Act out,” McGovern asserted. “They've already said that merging it with the NDAA bill doesn't prevent that. Nothing in this rule will prevent that.”
He continued, “There is a 0% chance SAVE ends up in the NDAA because of this rule today. So this is a ‘cover-your-behind’ maneuver, if you will.”
Under the rule approved on Monday, the procedural maneuver would allow the SAVE Act to be attached to the NDAA without requiring a separate vote on the election bill itself.
The SAVE Act's Scope and Senate Prospects
Notably, leadership did not select a version of the election bill that encompasses all of the president’s SAVE priorities, which included measures such as restricting mail-in voting and prohibiting men from competing in women’s sports and child sex-change procedures. Speaker Johnson has yet to ask House Republicans to consider the more comprehensive measure, and it remains uncertain whether a widespread crackdown on mail-in ballots could secure passage in the chamber.
Johnson’s move to push the SAVE Act comes at a time when House Republicans appear to possess limited leverage to force the bill through the Senate. There, Republican leaders have indicated that the measure lacks sufficient votes for passage. The election bill has struggled to garner unified Republican support, let alone the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Democratic filibuster.
Former President Trump Weighs In
Former President Trump publicly criticized five Republican senators—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky—in a social media post on Monday. He argued that this group “must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY.”
“There can be no more excuses!” Trump wrote.
