House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will try one more time to move the SAVE America Act as a third reconciliation package after earlier efforts stalled. Congress returned to Washington on Monday with just eight remaining days before a five-week recess, narrowing the window for Republicans to act before the midterms.
Johnson said the plan would use budget reconciliation, the fast-track process that lets the House and Senate advance certain legislation without the usual filibuster hurdles. He also said the legislation has "big urgency" and that the House would "try one more time" to approve it.
Johnson's budget path
Johnson proposed merging the SAVE America Act with the National Defense Authorization Act before sending it to the Senate, but Republican hardliners led by Anna Paulina Luna of Florida voted against moving forward on that approach. That fight pushed Johnson to send the House home early for the Fourth of July recess after the standoff.
The latest plan keeps the same basic route: pass the measure in the House, attach it to a larger bill, and send it on to the Senate. Johnson said in an interview with that the president understands the mail ballot prohibition "is a bigger reach," a line that points to the limits inside the broader package.
Lindsey Graham and the recess clock
Congress returned on Monday just two days after Lindsey Graham died on Saturday evening at age 71, a separate moment that hung over the opening of the week on Capitol Hill. The Senate is scheduled to be in Washington through the first week of August, which leaves the House with less time to settle its own version of the fight before lawmakers leave again.
Vice President JD Vance was initially expected to attend the House GOP conference meeting on Tuesday but had a scheduling conflict. Mr. Trump has pushed for legislation that would include bans on mail-in voting and transgender athletes' participation in women's sports, and he also called on Congress to approve a spending bill without the help of Democrats through the budget reconciliation process.
Whether the House can gather enough support this time is the open test. The hardliners already blocked Johnson's earlier plan, and the remaining session days now determine whether the SAVE America Act moves or slips into the next round of unfinished business.
