House Republican hard-liners threatened to continue blocking legislative business Tuesday ahead of a 1:30 p.m. vote to attach the SAVE America Act to the annual defense bill.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and allied hard-liners derailed last week’s planned House business, and Speaker Mike Johnson moved Monday to attach the House-passed SAVE America Act to the Pentagon bill; Luna said the plan was insufficient.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said the procedural measure scheduled for the early-afternoon vote “is going to have problems the way it is currently structured,” and he said he needs “more than a commitment” from Johnson to hold a vote on border security issues.
GOP leaders want the House to vote this week on the annual defense policy bill, fiscal 2027 funding for the State Department and other agencies, and other measures.
In a closed-door meeting of House Republicans, Johnson urged members to fall in line, but very few of the biggest potential holdouts were in the room, according to four people granted anonymity.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) called the blockade threat “stupid,” saying, “The idea you're going to make the Senate do something by doing nothing in the House is ridiculous,” and adding, “You make the Senate move by putting pressure on them by passing [bills], not by having a self-inflicted shutdown.” He also said of Luna, “If she wants to be a senator, she should run for the Senate.”
Johnson told reporters he doesn't plan to further modify the procedural measure to placate holdouts, saying, “There’s always lingering issues, and we're going to work through them today.” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said he plans to support the procedural vote, adding, “Whether it'll pass or not, I'm not sure.”
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the bipartisan housing affordability bill he was set to sign last week was “a big yawn” compared to the SAVE America Act.