Speaker Mike Johnson\u2019s day will be consumed by the SAVE America Act \u2014 again.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s signature election security bill is on track to derail his chamber\u2019s agenda for the rest of the week as a small group of hard-liners demand House GOP leaders somehow find a way to force the Senate to pass the measure.<\/p>\n

Johnson Monday night tried to appease the group by leveraging an unusual procedural maneuver<\/u><\/a> that would send the elections measure and the annual Pentagon policy bill to the Senate in a single package.<\/p>\n

But Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has led the bloc halting House business, dismissed Johnson\u2019s move, arguing it\u2019d allow the Senate to easily strip out the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n

It \u201cwill not work,\u201d Luna said Monday night after demanding \u201ca full bakeage\u201d into the must-pass defense bill earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

To be clear: Her own proposal to simply add SAVE America as an amendment could be removed just as easily in the Senate as with Johnson\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n

But with the speaker needing a unified conference to unlock floor business for the rest of the week \u2014 he may be forced to deal with Luna and allied hard-liners regardless of legislative logic.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Supreme Court decision Monday only sharpened Trump and his allies\u2019 fixation<\/a> on the legislation, as the court ruled states may accept mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day so long as they are postmarked by that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of the tremendous loss in the Supreme Court today concerning Voter\u2019s Rights, and the fact that \u2018people\u2019s\u2019 votes are allowed to be counted LONG AFTER an Election is over, it is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,\u201d Trump said on Truth Social, reinvigorating hard-liners\u2019 crusade despite his calls last week for them to stop threatening \u201cNo\u2019s\u201d on rule votes.<\/p>\n

The court\u2019s ruling spotlights another complication for Johnson: The version of the elections bill he is proposing to attach to the Pentagon legislation doesn\u2019t include the latest demands from Trump \u2014 including a near-total ban on mail voting that is opposed by many Republicans.<\/p>\n

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, for example, was noncommittal Monday when asked about supporting Trump\u2019s full demands for the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe voter ID part I\u2019m fine with,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cI\u2019ve already voted for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if the House somehow overcomes a tight rule vote and subsequently passes the merged bills, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the combo could not pass his chamber.<\/p>\n

Senators are set to debate their own version of the defense bill next month, and it is all but certain the election overhaul would be removed in negotiations between the two chambers.<\/p>\n

What else we\u2019re watching:\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 JOHNSON HUDDLES WITH TRUMP ON HOUSING BILL: <\/b>Johnson said a landmark housing affordability package Congress cleared last week will become law<\/a>, and that Republicans won\u2019t have to take an uncomfortable vote to override a presidential veto to make that happen. Johnson in an interview Monday said he\u2019d speak again with Trump Tuesday about signing the bipartisan housing bill. The president tanked plans last week to swiftly sign into law one of Republican lawmakers\u2019 top priorities before the midterms, saying he\u2019d hold the measure hostage until Congress passed his election security bill.<\/p>\n

\u2014 RELATIONSHIP FRAYS BETWEEN SENATE’S TOP APPROPRIATORS: <\/i><\/b>It\u2019s getting harder and harder for the top Republican and Democrat overseeing government funding in the Senate to keep up the collegial working relationship<\/u><\/a> they\u2019ve long prided themselves on. Sens. Susan Collins and Patty Murray have been increasingly at odds as the midterms approach and spending priorities diverge. It comes after their successful collaboration on bipartisan legislation during Murray\u2019s two-year reign as chair of Senate Appropriations, which continued when Collins took the gavel last year.<\/p>\n

Meredith Lee Hill, Kelsey Brugger, Jennifer Scholtes and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"