Johnson walks tightrope with SAVE America Act push in reconciliation 3.0

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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is aiming to advance a grant program tied to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act in a Republicans reconciliation package, betting that the party-line process could provide a pathway for one of conservatives’ — and President Trump’s — top priorities.

The proposal, unveiled by Johnson at a Wednesday press briefing, would create a fund that states could tap to implement provisions of the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot. It is an attempt to work around the so-called Byrd Rule, which sets strict budgetary requirements for what can be included in a reconciliation bill, after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the SAVE America Act in its entirety was not eligible.

But the idea has already drawn pushback from some hardline conservatives, who argue the effort amounts to an incentive program and say they would prefer to see the full legislation clear the Senate. Other Republicans have questioned whether a third reconciliation package is even possible this year.

The push highlights the difficult balancing act Johnson faces as he looks to advance a third reconciliation bill, enact Trump’s priorities and manage a razor-thin majority in an election year.

It also underscores just how much Trump’s repeated insistence that Congress pass the SAVE America Act has upended the GOP legislative agenda in both chambers as time winds down before the midterms.

The issue has become such a priority for Trump that he scrapped a signing ceremony for a widely popular bipartisan housing package on Wednesday, vowing not to put his signature on the bill until Congress moves on the voter ID law. Trump last week also vowed not to sign a reauthorization of the U.S.’s lapsed foreign spy powers until lawmakers pass the SAVE America Act.

In the House, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and other hardliners have said they would oppose all procedural rules and grind floor activity to a halt until the measure passes the upper chamber. House GOP leaders scrapped a procedural rule vote Wednesday afternoon and returned later in the day to vote only on suspension bills.

The SAVE America Act passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to oppose it, leaving it short of the votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Still, conservatives, including Luna, are skeptical about Johnson’s plan to work around Democratic opposition.

Asked about Johnson’s grant program proposal, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), policy chair of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and a major proponent of the bill, said he thinks “grant programs are what they are. They’re incentives.”

“States who want to do it would take the incentive. States who don’t wouldn’t necessarily. Maybe it’s pressure. I’m not saying I’m opposed to putting something like that on if there is a moving vehicle that’s otherwise moving in order to get some elements of the election integrity done, but let’s not kid ourselves that it would be full SAVE. It wouldn’t be,” Roy said.

Roy added that “every effort should be made to attach the Save Act or Save America Act to moving vehicles, for example, the housing bill.”

Johnson said during his press conference that he spoke to Trump on Wednesday morning about how reconciliation, a special process in which Republicans can bypass the filibuster in the Senate, would be the only path forward on the SAVE America Act.

“We believe that if you create a grant program that ties it to reconciling the budget, and you allow blue states, if they come to their senses and they want to avail themselves of election integrity proposals and ideas and policies, they can draw down from a federal fund, and use those funds. We’re willing to invest heavily in that,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that Trump wants to see some progress on the proposal.

Asked if he sees a path forward for the SAVE America Act in a third reconciliation bill, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) said, “There’s definitely a pathway. I mean, there could be some changes to the specifics of what it looks like, but there’s definitely a pathway.”

Still, Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said, “We need the SAVE America Act as it is. Grant program, I’m unsure of. I gotta see how that works. We need the SAVE America Act now. It’s the most important bill this Congress could pass.”

Luna wrote on the social platform X after Johnson’s presser that, “The save America act cannot be placed in reconciliation and I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid. Neither should you.”

House Republicans had long sought to move forward with a third reconciliation bill that includes defense spending, fraud prevention and other priorities ahead of the midterms. Johnson met with lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss the plan.

In another sign of the difficulty of that effort, the House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday unveiled a series of demands for a third reconciliation bill, including spending cuts, eliminating “Green New Scam mandates,” extending the prohibition on tax dollars going to abortion providers, enacting health care reforms, eliminating taxes on firearms, and eliminating the threat of another government shutdown.

“We control the field — we cannot afford to leave any points on the board in reconciliation,” the group wrote.

The Trump administration has also been pushing for Congress to include $350 billion in defense spending in a third bill – another headache for Johnson as fiscal hawk conservatives clamor for offsets.

“My view is you need year-for-year, dollar-for-dollar payfors, and that’s one of the debates we’re having,” Roy said, after exiting the meeting.

Gill said, “What we don’t want is this to be predicated on budget gimmicks that aren’t real. So, I mean, we’re very attuned to that.”

But House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said earlier Wednesday that, “Our commitment is at a minimum that we’re not going to increase the deficit, that it’ll be a cost-neutral proposition at best, or you know, at worst, and at best we reduce the deficit. That’s all going to revolve around basically the anti-fraud provisions.”

“The question is, do we have the political will as a conference to do those things?” Arrington added.

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Anna Paulina Luna

Brandon Gill

Chip Roy

Keith Self

Mike Johnson

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