Republicans are staking their "last big gamble" on advancing President Donald Trump's agenda this week – the final stretch before Congress splits until mid-September – but GOP infighting could send the effort "up in smoke," Punchbowl News reported Monday.
The House is set to leave for a five-week recess Thursday, putting pressure on GOP leaders to advance Trump's plans in the next few days, chief among them the SAVE Act, the president's controversial voter ID bill. However, “hardliners” within the GOP could very well torpedo those efforts and send them “up in smoke,” Punchbowl News noted.
Top of the GOP’s priority list is the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, the annual defense spending bill. The latest version includes a controversial provision that would establish an "unprecedented" integration of the United States’ and Israel’s militaries.
Also on the GOP’s priority list is a temporary funding bill to fund federal agencies through December 4 and a legislative measure that would allow for a reconciliation package to move forward: a package with $60 billion for the Pentagon to help cover costs incurred from the deeply unpopular U.S. war against Iran.
In order for any of the legislation to move forward, however, the House Rules Committee will need to adopt a rule to set up the parameters for debate, though “hardline conservatives” may move to sabotage the rule vote out of protest, Punchbowl News reported.
“Hardline conservatives – the Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) wing of the House GOP – have been seething that the budget resolution doesn’t include a single offset for its $90 billion in spending,” Punchbowl News’ report reads.
“But if hardliners take the rule down, the GOP’s legislative week could quickly go up in smoke. We’d expect President Donald Trump to work the phones and make the case that voting for the budget resolution is the best way to get the SAVE America Act through Congress.”