House GOP leaders break logjam after conservative revolt

House GOP leaders have successfully navigated a significant legislative logjam, breaking an impasse that had stalled most floor action. The breakthrough came after a revolt by conservative members who sought to leverage their votes to compel the Senate to act on President Trump's priority legislation, the SAVE America Act.

The SAVE America Act, which proposes stricter voting requirements including proof of citizenship for federal elections and photo ID mandates, has faced consistent roadblocks in the Senate. This lack of progress has frustrated President Trump and hardline House Republicans, who subsequently held up other Republican priorities.

On Tuesday, most of the holdout conservatives relented, allowing a crucial party-line procedural vote to proceed. This vote paves the way for debate and final votes on several key bills, including an annual appropriations bill for the State Department. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to attach the SAVE America Act to this legislation before sending it to the Senate, a strategy that faced similar opposition last month when it was proposed to be merged with the defense policy bill.

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If John Thune strips it out in the Senate that will be on him and the entire country should be watching what he does.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a leading proponent of the SAVE America Act in the House, indicated her support for Johnson's latest plan, provided the elections bill is included with "all the appropriation bills and all must-pass bills." She warned that any attempt by Senate leadership, specifically mentioning John Thune, to remove the bill would be met with national scrutiny.

However, the House's strategy is likely to face immediate challenges in the Senate, where the SAVE America Act lacks sufficient support for passage. Despite passing three versions of the bill since 2024, all have stalled in the upper chamber. Speaker Johnson also contended with members pushing for a vote on a border security bill, which passed the House in 2023 but has not been considered by the Senate. Heated discussions occurred on the House floor as Johnson worked to secure votes, with Rep. Chip Roy acknowledging progress on border security and other issues as concessions for advancing the procedural measure.

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We made progress on the areas that I've been public about on border security, birthright, other issues.