The procedural "rule" setting up further House votes failed 224-198 Tuesday, with 14 House Republicans joining Democrats to reject it, effectively halting the annual defense policy bill and freezing most floor business.
The Republicans who voted against the rule included Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who immediately moved to reconsider the vote, and other holdouts who sank the measure.
The rebellion at least temporarily extends a freeze on floor business that began last week amid conservative frustrations over the stalled SAVE America Act, the Republican-written elections bill President Donald Trump has called his No. 1 legislative priority.
Several holdouts said a broken promise to hold a vote on an immigration bill before the July 4 recess was a central grievance; Rep. Chip Roy said that was "the main reason" he voted against the rule, and Rep. Andy Harris said the issue was "central" to Tuesday's floor meltdown.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson attach the SAVE America Act to the Pentagon bill as an amendment Tuesday, even after Johnson moved to attach the bill as part of the procedural measure that failed.
Beyond the SAVE Act fight, other parochial concerns helped sink the rule: Rep. Mike Turner and Rep. Victoria Spartz broke with their party after the Rules Committee didn't grant a vote on Turner's amendment to restore pension benefits to retirees of defunct auto parts producer Delphi.
The failed rule would have granted votes on more than 300 amendments, including GOP proposals to cement the administration's ban on military service by transgender people, block Ukraine aid and roll back collective bargaining protections for civilian defense workers.
If Johnson cannot placate the holdouts, he will be unable to move the annual Pentagon bill or fiscal 2027 spending for the State Department and other agencies as planned before a scheduled weeklong July 4 recess; Johnson told reporters Republicans would work for the "next day-and-a-half" to settle the disputes.
Johnson also told members in a closed-door meeting to fall in line, though very few of the biggest potential holdouts were in the room, and he said he didn't plan to further modify the procedural measure, saying, "There's always lingering issues, and we're going to work through them today."
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 of Luna, "If she wants to be a senator, she should run for the Senate." Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said he planned to support the procedural vote, adding, "Whether it'll pass or not, I'm not sure."
Trump canceled the planned signing of a major housing bill last week to put pressure on the Senate to act on the SAVE America Act and, after meeting with Johnson at the White House, instructed GOP members not to blockade the floor; Luna and others did not heed that admonition.