House Rules Committee Weighs 1,400 Defense Bill Amendments as SAVE Act Threatens GOP Votes
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 29
House Rules Committee Weighs 1,400 Defense Bill Amendments as SAVE Act Threatens GOP Votes
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 29
Summary
Nearly 1,400 amendments go before the House Rules Committee on Monday, including a bid by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and other hardliners to attach the SAVE America Act to the annual defense bill.
Just a handful of Republican defections on the procedural rule could block the bill from reaching the House floor this week, jeopardizing Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to pass it before the July 4 holiday.
Trump has pushed Republicans to enact stricter voting laws and called passage of the SAVE measure “more important than ever” after the Supreme Court ruled states may count ballots arriving after Election Day if postmarked on time.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has warned combining the elections bill with defense policy would sink the measure in the Senate, while Democrats say such an amendment would wipe out what little bipartisan support remains.
Last year’s culture-war amendments drove nearly all House Democrats off the defense bill before most were stripped in Senate talks, underscoring how this year’s fight could again imperil a usually bipartisan measure.