Voter ID legislation has been a central priority for many in the GOP, including President Donald Trump, for years.
But gridlock on Capitol Hill has prevented any real progress on the landmark SAVE America Act despite the Republicans’ majority in both chambers of Congress.
Early this week, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced a plan to combine the measure with a crucial defense spending bill, as The Hill explained:
Hard-line conservatives have said they would oppose any procedural rules that tee up debate and a final vote on legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot, or until the House takes further action to force the issue.
ADVERTISEMENTJohnson said that he will use a process called MIRVing, in which a procedural rule directs separately passed legislation to be packaged together and sent to the Senate.
“We’re going to pass a MIRV, or what’s better known as a merge onto the rule. So what that means is, when Republicans vote for the rule, they’ll be voting not just for the NDAA and everything else is there, but they’ll be voting to merge onto that the SAVE America Act we passed back in February,” Johnson said.
“So that will send both of those items together over to the Senate, and so if any Republicans choose to vote against the rule, they will be voting against that outcome. So we think this is another good way to show the resolve of the House,” he added.
The move attracted some social media attention after a series of false starts for the voter ID initiative, but it isn’t instilling much confidence in Johnson’s fellow GOP lawmakers:
“MIRVing” the NDAA plus either SAVE America or Voter I.D. would still allow the Senate to strip out either or. The only way to ensure the Senate passes this is to make sure it’s in the bill text of the NDAA, meaning that my amendment(s) must be made an order. I’m not trying to be…
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) June 30, 2026
Many supporters of the SAVE America Act nevertheless pleaded with Republicans to do what they can to ensure its passage:
Well send the shit up again and again with every fucking bill .
— mobfather (@Mobfathertv) June 30, 2026
Then let them tank the entire NDAA
— Wuhan Fourth Turning Swan (@TheWuhanClan) June 30, 2026
Yahoo News provided some additional context:
Johnson would need near-unanimous GOP support on the procedural rule, given his razor-thin margin in the House.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, offered an amendment during the hearing to strike out language in the rule merging the SAVE America Act to the NDAA. However, Republicans voted down his amendment.
“Let me be clear. The Senate will just strip the Save Act out. They’ve already said that merging it with the NDAA bill doesn’t prevent that. Nothing in this rule will prevent that,” McGovern said during the hearing.
“And to my Republican colleagues who want this NDAA to advance, you should also reject this rule, because all you’re doing by supporting this shell game is giving false hope to those like Representative Luna, who think that this will do something down the line. It will not make a difference at all,” McGovern added.
The procedural rule that lawmakers will vote on Tuesday also includes other legislation, such as a bill funding national security, the State Department and other relevant programs, as well as a resolution commemorating the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
And here’s a recap of where things stood as the week got underway:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!