A group of House conservatives ended their weeks-long blockade of the floor Tuesday, giving Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a significant victory after the standoff had effectively halted legislative business for nearly a month.
The House approved a procedural rule in a 215-211 vote, clearing the way for consideration of a State Department appropriations bill, legislation to make daylight saving time permanent, and a measure aimed at expanding veterans’ benefits.
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Johnson also agreed to pair the State Department funding bill with the SAVE America Act, a move that persuaded several conservative holdouts to support the rule after they had insisted the House do more to pressure the Senate into taking up the stalled legislation.
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., was the lone Republican to oppose the rule, while all Democrats voted “no” during a party-line procedural vote, reports noted.
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The conservative lawmakers had blocked consideration of major House legislation since late June in an effort to force Republican leaders to schedule floor votes on the Trump-backed SAVE America Act and a broad border security package.
With Republicans holding only a narrow House majority, Johnson could afford to lose the support of only a few GOP members.
The speaker had faced increasing pressure to restart legislative business and move a growing backlog of bills before the November midterm elections.
Republican leaders are also working to assemble the framework for a third “big, beautiful bill,” while advancing government funding legislation ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline and preparing for a possible supplemental spending package to address the costs of the Iran war.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., one of the lawmakers who helped lead the floor blockade in an effort to pressure the Senate to act on the SAVE America Act, agreed to end the standoff after Johnson proposed pairing the election measure with the State Department appropriations bill.
Before the July 4 recess, Johnson had attempted to attach the SAVE America Act to the House version of the annual defense authorization bill, but Luna and other conservatives continued the blockade, Fox News reported.
“If John Thune strips it out in the Senate, that will be on him and the entire country should be watching what he does,” Luna posted on social media Monday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who supports the SAVE America Act, has repeatedly said the bill lacks the votes needed to pass the Senate because of unified Democratic opposition.
That reality has left House Republicans with limited leverage to pressure the Senate into taking up the Trump-backed legislation.
Some conservative holdouts also threatened to oppose the procedural rule unless House Republican leaders agreed to schedule a vote on a broader border security package.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus have been pushing for consideration of the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act, which would codify several of President Trump’s executive orders on illegal immigration, including a provision ending catch-and-release policies.
“We need to deliver on codifying border security, deal with the birthright citizenship issue,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News.
“These are all issues people that I represent care about intently and that we’ve talked about doing, and we need to deliver,” he added.
In a possible sign of continued tensions within the Republican conference, several conservative 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.
Referring to the SAVE America Act, he added: “Priorities.”
The lawmaker did, however, vote ‘yes’ during the procedural vote.
The conservative rebels’ hardline strategy frustrated many House Republicans, who argued that the prolonged standoff risked backfiring by bringing the conference’s legislative agenda to a standstill, Fox noted.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
