House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will be forced, again, to navigate a “legislative minefield” this week due to President Donald Trump’s controversial agenda, a challenge that risks leaving the entire chamber “paralyzed for a second week in a row” and sparking a GOP "disaster,” Punchbowl News reported Monday.
At the heart of the difficulties facing House Republicans is Trump’s controversial voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act, which has passed in the House multiple times but continues to stall in the Senate.
House lawmakers are hoping to advance the annual defense spending bill this week before a July 4 recess, but one MAGA lawmaker is threatening to block all floor proceedings unless the SAVE Act is attached to the defense spending bill, an amendment that’s considered a non-starter for Democrats and would almost surely tank the bill.
That lawmaker is Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who’s already submitted an amendment to the defense spending bill to attach the SAVE Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote, something experts have described as a form of voter suppression.
“If Luna’s amendment is ruled out of order, the Florida Republican told us she’ll vote against the rule and continue her blockade on floor action, likely rendering the House paralyzed for a second week in a row,” Punchbowl News’ report reads.
“Johnson and top House Republicans are hopeful that Luna will drop her insistence on the language after Trump posted on Truth Social last week that the GOP members should stop messing around with rules votes. It’s true that Luna has close ties to the Florida crew in the White House. But Trump has less sway than ever. And his advice on legislating is oftentimes ignored.”
