Speaker Mike Johnson Pulls Veterans Act Amid GOP Defections

House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) from the floor on July 16, 2026, after failing to secure a Republican majority. The bill, a package of approximately 60 measures including the Major Richard Star Act, collapsed due to internal party disputes over a funding mechanism that would limit disability payouts for sleep apnea and tinnitus to fund other expanded benefits. The proposed cuts could have saved $57 billion over 10 years, a move condemned by the Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, though supported by the American Legion.

The legislation faced a critical blow when Representatives Anna Paulina Luna, Jeff Van Drew, and Max Miller joined Democrats in a procedural motion to return the bill to the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Tensions peaked during an eleventh-hour meeting where Representative Zach Nunn and Representative Luna clashed over her opposition to the medical benefit cuts. While Chairman Mike Bost defended the offsets as necessary for Senate approval, Ranking Member Mark Takano and Senator Richard Blumenthal proposed using unspent Department of Defense funds as an alternative.

Johnson attributed the delay to misinformation and indicated the bill might not return until September. The failure marks a significant setback for the GOP agenda, occurring alongside ongoing gridlock and warnings from Senate Majority Leader John Thune regarding the strategic risks of a separate $95 billion emergency funding bill currently pursued through budget reconciliation.