Posted on 06/30/2026 3:09:54 PM PDT by Miami Rebel
A band of conservative hardliners on Tuesday blocked a procedural rule that would have teed up debate and final votes on a slate of legislation, dealing a blow to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as he aimed to advance the annual defense authorization bill this week.
The lower chamber voted 198-224 to reject the rule, with 14 Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the measure due to objections about the SAVE America Act, the priorities of the House, and a niche pension issue.
GOP Reps. Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Randy Fine (Fla.), Andy Harris (Md.), Anna Paulina Luna
Anna Paulina Luna House cuts work short for second week as rebels freeze floor These Republicans voted to block NDAA rule, paralyzing House floor House set to vote as GOP leaders hope NDAA, SAVE America Act gambit unlocks floor More(Anna Paulina Luna) (Fla.), Max Miller (Ohio), Chip Roy (Texas), Keith Self (Texas), Victoria Spartz (Ind.), Mike Turner (Ohio), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.) voted against the rule. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) also switched his vote to no so Republican leaders could call the bill back up.
The vote continues the paralysis of the House floor, where several conservatives had ground most activity to a halt amid frustrations that the Senate has yet to take action on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a voter ID bill pushed by President Trump.
The rule on Tuesday included language that would have merged the SAVE America Act with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) once it passed the House, sending both measures to the Senate in one package through a special procedure called MIRVing.
Johnson after the vote expressed frustration at the Republicans voting against advancing the defense bill, saying that they “by consequence, also voted against the SAVE America Act.”
“A couple of the members, if you ask them why they voted no, they’ll say it was out of frustration from Senate Democrats refusing to do the will of the American people and work on election integrity,” Johnson said. “It makes no sense for us to stop our very important progress forward from House Republicans, because some Senate Democrats are refusing to do their job. That’s where we are. That’s the reality of it.”
The Speaker added that leaders will work on getting the votes to advance the procedural rule “over the next day and a half, and we’ll get everybody to yes,” adding: “We’re going to do it again.”
He dismissed a reporter’s question about whether he has lost control of the House GOP, saying: “We have full control of the conference.”
“We have the smallest margin in U.S. history,” Johnson said. “People get very emotional about things, and sometimes they make irrational decisions.”
Johnson had announced the plan to merge the bills on Monday, in an effort to appease hardliners.
But Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who had pushed to attach the SAVE America Act to the NDAA via an amendment, argued that the Senate could still easily strip out the voter ID bill. The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot. Trump has repeatedly called for the measure to be passed.
“The current plan being proposed by HOUSE GOP to “MIRV” NDAA + SAVE AMERICA is a procedural head fake. This does not do anything but guarantee the Senate will EASILY TAKE OUT SAVE America from the NDAA,” Luna posted on X shortly before the vote. “HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP SHOULD allow an AMENDMENT to ATTACH VOTER ID + PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP or SAVE America to the ACTUAL TEXT of NDAA. IF IT IS NOT DONE THIS WAY, IT WILL EASILY BE TAKEN OUT.”
However, the Senate would still be able to remove any SAVE America Act provision even if it was in the base text of the NDAA the House passed.
Roy, meanwhile, said his vote against the rule was less about the SAVE America Act and more about pressuring GOP leadership to bring up border security legislation. Roy was among a group of Republicans who earlier in the month said that GOP leaders committed to bring up a border security bill by Independence Day as a condition of advancing a bill to fund immigration enforcement and border security.
Those issues, Roy argued, were particularly important in light of the Supreme Court decision announced earlier in the day upholding birthright citizenship.
“We need to be on offense, and we’re not,’ Roy said. “We ought to be codifying what the president’s doing.”
Turner, for his part, had aimed to use the NDAA as a vehicle to restore terminated Delphi retiree pensions but Johnson said that Turner’s proposal faced a point of order problem because “it was appropriating on an authorizing measure.”
Turner was joined in his dissent by fellow Ohio Republican Miller and Spartz.
The rule, if passed, would have advanced the NDAA, an appropriations bill funding national security and the State Department, a resolution commemorating the anniversary of the enactment of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and other measures.
It’s back to the drawing board for Johnson, as the fate of the GOP’s legislative agenda hangs in the balance. Johnson needs near-unanimous GOP support on any procedural rule, given his razor-thin margin.
The SAVE America Act has passed the House, but stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to oppose it, leaving it short of the votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has dismissed conservatives’ calls to eliminate or reform the filibuster to pass the bill.
Trump last week urged House Republicans to unify and stop voting down rules in a Truth Social post, after meeting with Johnson.
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“We have full control of the conference.”
BUT
“We have the smallest margin in U.S. history. People get very emotional about things, and sometimes they make irrational decisions.”
The two remarks don’t gibe.
So tired of this crap!
They seem to be bored at their job.
That’s how you know one of the statements isn’t true. Pretty simple to figure out which one.
More importantly, why hasn’t the Speaker brought forward the immigration bill as promised?
I don’t really understand how the GOP has such a pipsqueak for a Speaker,
The NDAA has become a Trojan horse for all manner of ridiculous junk. It needs to be passed clean for the constitutional, required funding and let everything else stand or fall on its own.
This doesn't sound like a bad thing. We need to get the SAVE act passed now that SCOTUS has said mail-ins can be counted forever.
Expecting corrupt people to pass “clean” legislation?
“We have full control of the conference.”
BUT
“We have the smallest margin in U.S. history. People get very emotional about things, and sometimes they make irrational decisions.”
The two remarks don’t gibe.
Full control of the Republican Conference is very different than full control of the House of Representatives.
False.
If the conference were united, it’d muscle any bill it wanted out of the House.
Most Republicans are Democrats.
No Democrats are Republicans.
False.
If the conference were united, it’d muscle any bill it wanted out of the House.
“Full control” and “United” are not the same thing.
Conservatives know that the Senate will reject the Bill, unless the The SAVE
AMERICA ACT is written to the TEXT of the Bill.
Which it was not on this Vote.
Hence, Conservatives revolted.
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