President Donald Trump instructed a band of his GOP hard-liner allies to end their House floor blockade with multiple major bills at risk of being derailed.
“House Republicans should unify, and stop voting down ‘Rules’ or, threatening to do so,” Trump posted after meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson Thursday. He added: “No more grandstanding, please!”
“Rules” are procedural measures used by House leaders to control the chamber floor. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and her allies said this week they would vote down those measures until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, the stalled GOP elections bill.
Trump has embraced hardball tactics to advance SAVE America Act himself — including by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing bill this week. But Luna’s floor blockade has risked collateral damage, including passage of fiscal 2027 appropriations bills and the annual Pentagon policy bill.
Asked about Trump’s post, Luna said she has filed an amendment to the defense bill that would attach the elections bill. Doing so would almost certainly kill its chances of passing in the Senate, where Democrats could filibuster the bill.
She told reporters she isn’t completely dropping her blockade threat: “If they want my vote, they should entertain it, debate it, and if they block it, then we’ll see. But that’s how you get my vote,” she said when asked about blocking the procedural vote teeing the Pentagon bill next week.
The House Rules Committee is set to meet Monday to consider amendments and prepare the bill for the floor.
Trump, meanwhile, did not address the housing bill he refused to sign this week, but Johnson said in brief comments to reporters after returning from the White House that he intended to send the measure to Trump. That would set up a signature, a veto or passive enactment of the bill if it is not signed within 10 days.
“We’re on exactly the same page,” Johnson said. “Congress has work to do, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
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