MAGA 'hard-liners' mount rebellion to push Trump's doomed voting obsession

Republican leaders are facing an uncertain path forward for their legislative plans, according to The Hill, after a contingent of "conservative hard-liners" mounted a "rebellion" to try and push for President Donald Trump's doomed voting bill.

"Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has an ambitious legislative agenda this week, but it’s unclear whether he can move those priorities forward as a group of conservative hard-liners demand action on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act," the outlet reported on Monday morning."

Trump has been pushing hard for the passage of the SAVE America Act, a bill that would implement sweeping voting law reforms if passed, notably requiring individuals to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote. His obsession with the bill stems from his long-debunked claims that widespread voter fraud is being committed by non-citizens in the U.S., with critics warning that the bill would potentially disenfranchise millions of lawful citizens who lack easy access to things like their passports or birth certificates.

Despite GOP leaders in Congress stressing to Trump that the bill lacks the votes to overcome the filibuster in the Senate, he has remained adamant that it must be passed, recently refusing to sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill until it was done. As The Hill noted in its report, he has been joined in this crusade by some of his more hard-line GOP supporters.

"President Trump urged House Republicans last week to fall in line after conservative rebels brought most House floor activity to a standstill by threatening to oppose procedural rules unless the Senate passed the SAVE America Act," the report continued. "Because the House must adopt a rule before debating and voting on final passage of most legislation, the tactic effectively ground the chamber to a halt."

The outlet added: "Whether Trump’s appeal will be enough to sway the holdouts remains an open question. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna(R-Fla.) wrote on social media last week that she had submitted an amendment to the House Rules Committee to attach the SAVE America Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signaling she is unwilling to back down."

"This amendment to attach the SAVE America Act to the NDAA was filed last week and is now sitting in the Rules Committee," Luna wrote. "This is how to get my vote on a rule. But I am one of MANY."

GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas was also adamant about the bill, urging his colleagues to "immediately pass HR2 (promised) to codify border security, a congressional stock trading ban, get SAVE passed, & fully fund defense with real pay-fors."

Given the razor-thin GOP majority in the House, Johnson cannot afford more than a few holdouts at any given time, putting the chances of his other priorities moving forward in jeopardy.