Mike Johnson Ends House GOP Blockade With Voter ID Deal

House Speaker Mike Johnson ended a two-week legislative deadlock on Tuesday by agreeing to attach the SAVE America Act to must-pass State Department funding and national security bills. The move follows a blockade by far-right lawmakers who halted procedural votes and the annual defense policy bill to pressure the Senate into passing the SAVE America Act, which requires photo identification and proof of citizenship for federal elections.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna and other conservative holdouts agreed to lift the blockade on the condition that the voter ID measures are sent to the Senate as a single package with the funding bills. While the agreement allows the House to advance a slate of legislation and a measure to make daylight saving time permanent before a five-week recess, the SAVE America Act is expected to fail in the Senate, where it lacks a simple majority.

Additional tensions remain over border security. Representative Chip Roy and other House Freedom Caucus members demanded a vote on codifying border security and birthright citizenship issues. Roy indicated that Johnson made progress on these fronts and promised to move a related bill the following week. The resolution comes as the September 30 funding deadline approaches and follows requests for assistance from the White House, including a postponed visit by Vice President JD Vance to a GOP conference meeting.