GOP leaders race to end conservative revolt as House floor stays at a standstill
House GOP leaders face a pivotal test Tuesday as they try to break a conservative revolt that has paralyzed the House floor for weeks.
The rebellion, including several dozen Republicans, has repeatedly forced House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to pull votes on key legislation, grinding House business to a halt just months before the November midterm elections.
Conservatives say they're blocking procedural votes until the Senate passes the stalled SAVE America Act and House GOP leadership allows a vote on sweeping border security legislation.
Neither demand appears close to being met amid GOP divisions, raising questions about whether Johnson can advance any major legislation this week.
Vice President JD Vance had planned to attend Republicans’ conference meeting on Tuesday but postponed the visit to a later date, Politico first reported. Vance’s canceled appearance comes as House Republican leadership appeared to enlist the White House’s help to end a conservative revolt that has effectively brought the floor to a standstill.
Trump also previously urged conservative rebels to reopen the House floor and stop "grandstanding," but the cohort did not relent.
Johnson is racing this week to advance an annual government spending bill funding the State Department and a measure making daylight saving time permanent — long a priority of President Donald Trump. Given the latter item’s popularity in the Sunshine State, leadership is likely hoping Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., will stand down and support a procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Luna did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the congresswoman would support the procedural rule advancing a slate of legislative items.
In another sign of trouble for GOP leadership, some holdouts criticized Johnson's legislative agenda for the week.
"Making Daylight Saving Time permanent won’t matter at all if we don’t have election integrity," Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, wrote on social media Monday. "Priorities."
Republicans are not expected to bring the annual defense policy bill — known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — up for consideration again this week after holdouts in June torpedoed a procedural vote advancing the legislation.
Johnson initially proposed combining the NDAA with the SAVE America Act, but holdouts, including Luna, argued it was inadequate because there was no guarantee the Senate would keep the election security measure in the final product.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES DERAIL GOP AGENDA IN SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWDOWN
Luna is now advocating for House leadership to fight for the SAVE America Act's inclusion in a compromise NDAA bill negotiated between the House and Senate.
"A Manager’s Amendment from the Chairwoman of the Rules Committee can force this in once the Senate sends us their version," Luna wrote on social media last week.
However, Senate Republicans have repeatedly argued the votes do not exist in their chamber to pass the Trump-backed election bill, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and voter ID requirements, among other priorities.
Still, some conservatives are advocating for adding the election measure to any legislation that passes the House chamber in an effort to force Senate action.
"The SAVE America Act must be attached to every piece of legislation until we secure our elections once and for all," Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, wrote on social media. "Protecting the integrity of our elections isn’t optional."
Johnson appeared to heed that demand by using a rare procedural maneuver that would merge the SAVE America Act with the State Department funding bill when it’s sent to the Senate after House passage.
A group of House conservatives are also pressing GOP leadership for a vote on border security legislation known as the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act.
The bill, authored by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, mirrors legislation known as H.R. 2 that passed Congress in 2023, but omits E-Verify program changes that threatened to kill support from moderate Republicans for the bill.
E-Verify would require certain U.S. employers to electronically confirm their employees’ work authorization.
Roy is among members of the House Freedom Caucus that have withheld support for procedural votes in an attempt to pressure leadership to bring the border legislation to a vote on the floor.
His bill would require the completion of border wall construction, tight asylum requirements and prohibiting catch-and-release policies, among other provisions.