Trump Fight for Voter ID Law Stalls Defense Bill in US House

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s demand for new voter identification requirements on Tuesday sidelined a planned congressional vote on a $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill his administration is seeking.

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A handful of Republican rebels have blockaded all major legislation in the House to protest the failure of Congress to pass the voter ID measure Trump is championing. On Tuesday, they thwarted House Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to advance the defense legislation in an embarrassing blow for the party’s congressional leadership.

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Johnson said House leaders would seek to resolve differences in the coming days. “We will work through it,” he told reporters shortly after the attempt failed.

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The intra-party battle over the voting measure underscores continuing GOP infighting ahead of a tough midterm election campaign in which the GOP is trailing. Trump last week urged his allies to stop blockading legislation in the House but he’s continued to push for the voter ID measure. 

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The defense authorization measure is considered must-pass legislation in large part because it authorizes troop pay raises and military construction projects. It also contains defense industrial and geostrategic policies.

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The bill typically has strong bipartisan support, and passage before the July 4th holiday would give lawmakers a chance to promote back home their support of US troops. Instead, the bill risks being sidelined for a voter ID measure that has little chance of passing the Senate.   

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Johnson sought to use a procedural gambit to send the defense policy bill and a voter ID measure to the Senate as one package. This did not satisfy Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna and other conservative Republicans who had demanded a vote to add the measure into the text of the defense bill. 

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The House rejected the procedural maneuver on a 198 to 224 vote, with 14 Republicans and all Democrats voting against it. Majority Leader Steve Scalise was among those to vote no, which will allow Republican leaders to bring it up again.

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The defeat came a week after the House canceled attempts to pass two annual spending bills for the State Department and Energy Department due to the blockade. 

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Trump has refused to sign a bipartisan housing policy bill and threatened to block other legislation such as a US spy powers bill until the Senate passes the Save America Act. 

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The bill, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and identification in order to vote, lacks the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate under current rules. Senate Republicans say they do not have the votes to end the 60-vote requirement to end debate on most bills in the Senate in order to pass the measure. 

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(Updates with Johnson and Scalise starting in third paragraph)

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