President Donald Trump is calling on the House to pass the government funding deal without any changes, a blow to conservatives who were pushing to attach legislation requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
“There can be NO CHANGES at this time,” the president wrote.
Trump’s comments come as a handful of House Republicans, led by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, have threatened to hold up the voting schedule, or even sink the funding deal, if the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act is not attached to the package.
Luna said last week that she would be a “hard no” against any funding legislation, and she had enough votes to “shut down the floor of the House,” unless the SAVE Act was included.
About 20 minutes after Trump’s post, Luna blasted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for “subvert[ing] the will of the people to advance his own personal agenda.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Luna for comment on Trump’s post.
Trump’s efforts to quash a looming conservative rebellion also come as House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) margins are shrinking. Rep.-elect Christian Menefee (D-TX) is set to be sworn in on Monday, bringing the House to just a one-seat GOP majority.
This adds more pressure to Johnson’s plate, as he now can only afford to lose one Republican vote to pass procedural measures and legislation along party lines. GOP leadership is attempting to push the government funding package through the Rules Committee on Monday evening, but if Luna’s threats prove to be effective, it could be very difficult for Johnson to pass the legislation along a party-line vote.
The SAVE Act has passed the House, but getting it through the Senate and to Trump’s desk would be difficult given the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Republicans hold only 53 seats, requiring at least six Democratic votes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters on Monday that the House’s goal should be passing the five-bill funding “minibus” and the two-week homeland security continuing resolution.
“We’ll litigate DHS over the next 10 days or so and see where we are, but I think right now the key is to make sure the government’s funded,” Thune said, adding that the SAVE Act “will get a vote” in the Senate “soon enough,” noting the complications with the vote schedule and logistics.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who is the lead co-sponsor of the House’s SAVE Act, said in a post that Republicans “don’t want just a vote (that loses). We want to win” in response to Thune’s comments.
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Roy, along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), launched the SAVE America Act, a “new and improved version” of the SAVE Act. The legislation adds a voter ID requirement to the original bill’s proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration.
A source familiar confirmed to the Washington Examiner that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) supports the SAVE America Act and is working with Roy and the White House on the “best legislative process” to get it passed.
