House conservatives are unhappy that their leadership is moving Senate priorities while the Senate sits on the House-passed, President Donald Trump priority SAVE America Act.
Wednesday night, the House passed a Senate bill championed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) dealing with tribal lands — an issue that, unlike voting integrity, impacts only a small percentage of Americans – despite last week drawing battle lines to block all Senate priorities.
A large group of House conservatives cried foul and voted “no” on the bill to send the message that the Senate must give more than lip service to the priority SAVE America Act before the House will entertain any Senate pet projects. Thirty-nine Republicans voted against the relatively non-controversial bill, as well as one Democrat.
President Donald Trump himself has reiterated his prioritization of the Save America Act multiple times.
“The Republicans MUST DO, with PASSION, and at the expense of everything else, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT — And not the watered down version,” he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “This is a Country Defining fight for the Soul of our Nation!”
The bill is such a priority for conservatives that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday that he would consider dropping out of his runoff in the Senate primary with Sen. John Cornyn if the Senate would take the measures necessary to pass it, most notably by instituting the talking filibuster, whereby Senators must actually hold the floor and vote on amendments to block a bill – a tall and distasteful order for many of Thune’s aged, moderate Republican holdovers from the pre-Trump era.
Trump said Wednesday he would endorse in the runoff and ask the other candidate to drop out of the race, although he has not yet revealed his choice yet – if he has made it. Thune and a cabal of establishment Republicans have pleaded with Trump for months to endorse the unpopular Cornyn, whose spending of upwards of $70 million in the primary propelled him to finish only about a percentage point ahead of the popular Paxton, who spent only about $4 million.
Without tipping his hand, Trump Friday said he wants the SAVE America Act on his desk before he would endorse in the runoff.
For their part, House conservatives are using what leverage they have to push Thune and the Senate to act, several told Breitbart News.
“Senate Republicans need to get their act together, listen to President Trump, and bring the SAVE America Act to the floor for real, talking debate,” Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) said in a written statement to Breitbart News. “No more hiding—make Democrats defend the indefensible. Until then, the House shouldn’t vote on any Senate bill. We have done our job; it’s time for senators to finally do theirs.”
“Congress’s number one legislative priority should be the SAVE America Act, yet the Senate continues to defend its inaction by hiding behind ‘tradition’ and bogus time concerns,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said. “The House must refuse the Senate’s priorities until enough Senators are willing to prioritize saving our Republic. I hope the remaining Senate holdouts hear our message loud and clear: Force a talking filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act.”
“Respectfully, my Republican colleagues in the Senate should know that HFC conservatives in the House consider the SAVE America Act as a nation-saving endeavor,” Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) added. “We the People know that the Senate can use Senate rules to get it done, so, as a reminder that We expect performance on SAVE, no Senator should expect passage of their personal project bills once the S. bill arrives in the House.”
“We won’t have a country to save if the Senate doesn’t pass the SAVE America Act using whatever means necessary,” Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) added. “Americans are counting on Senate Republicans to secure our elections and the time is now to deliver on President Trump’s agenda.”
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
Read the full article here