Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna during the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing problems in his own caucus as he attempts to advance a Senate-approved measure to reopen most government agencies that were shut down Saturday morning.
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet Monday night to consider a bill that would provide funding for a wide range of government areas, the first step toward sending the bill to the House floor. The bill passed the Senate on Friday after Democrats stripped funding from the Department of Homeland Security and instead ordered two weeks of stopgap funding for the department. The change would require reauthorization of the bill in the House of Representatives.
Democrats are not cooperating with Johnson and Republicans in moving the bill quickly, so the speaker will likely have to work within his narrow majority to advance the bill once it reaches the floor for a critical primary vote as early as Monday night. At least two Republicans have so far said they will not support the bill unless it includes the controversial SAVE Act, a voter ID measure, another hurdle for Johnson as he seeks to end the government shutdown. And the Republican majority is shrinking after Democrat Christian Menefee won a special election on Saturday to represent the Houston area.
“I am clear: The SAVE Act/Save America Act must be added to the rules of these spending bills and sent back to the Senate for a vote,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, said in a post to Mr. X on Sunday. “This is my price for a ‘yes’ vote.”
Rep. Eric Burleson (R-Missouri) joined Luna on Monday.
“House Republicans should not let Mr. Schumer dictate the terms of government funding,” Burleson said, referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.). “If Democrats want to play games, no spending package should come out of the House without the SAVE Act attached. Securing America’s elections must be non-negotiable.”
President Donald Trump on Monday urged Congress to quickly send the spending package into law for him to sign into law.
“We need the government to be open. I hope all Republicans and Democrats join me in supporting this bill and sending it to my desk without delay,” he said in a post on Truth Social, adding that the House should pass the Senate version without any additional changes.
This request forces Johnson to walk a tightrope. Without Democratic support, he would have just a one-vote majority to advance anything along party lines. But adding the SAVE Act to the bill would likely fail in the Senate, where it would need at least 60 votes to reauthorize the bill to avoid a filibuster.
Schumer said the addition of the SAVE Act would kill the bill once it goes to the Senate.
“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: The SAVE Act imposes Jim Crow-style laws across the country, and once it reaches the Senate, it will have no effect,” Schumer said in a statement Monday. “If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to a bipartisan spending package, it will prolong the Trump administration’s shutdown again.”
This is a developing story. Please refresh to check for updates.
