By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson is due to meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday in hopes of defusing a political crisis gripping Congress over a stalled package of national voting restrictions that the president views as his No. 1 legislative priority.
A day after a contentious closed-door meeting between Trump and Senate Republicans, hardline Trump allies led by U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna effectively shut down the
House floor by refusing to support a measure allowing unrelated legislation to advance until the Senate passes the voter ID bill known as the SAVE America Act, which the Senate has tried and failed to pass five times since mid-March.
Trump employed a similar tactic to pressure Senate Republicans on Wednesday by pulling out of a signing ceremony for a popular bipartisan housing bill that House and Senate Republican leaders hoped to showcase as evidence that they are addressing the high cost of living, the top issue for voters in the November midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans retain their majorities in Congress.
Hours after the Trump meeting, the Senate left a day early for a two-week July 4 break without any action on the SAVE America Act, despite mounting pressure on Senate Republicans including Senate Majority Leader John Thune from hardliners.
"I will not be voting to re-open the floor until the Senate gets back to Washington," Luna said in a social media post after their departure. "John Thune is running and hiding because he doesn't want to get voter ID across the finish line."
With only a slim 218-212 Republican majority, Johnson can afford to lose no more than two votes on any measure that faces unanimous opposition from Democrats. While Johnson's raucous caucus has caused him problems, he does not face the same challenges Thune does, where Senate rules effectively require bipartisan support of most legislation.
At a Thursday news conference, eight of Luna's fellow hardliners emphasized their own opposition to moving forward on House bills while the Senate is out of session. "I personally think we should not have any more legislation until the Senate comes back in session," said Representative Ralph Norman, a prominent member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus.
TRUMP FOCUSED ON VOTING RULES
The SAVE America Act would require a photo ID to vote in federal elections and proof of U.S. citizenship to register, while compelling states to turn over their voter registration rolls to the federal government.
The bill, which faces vehement opposition from Democrats, passed the House of Representatives in February but has since languished in the Senate. Trump also wants the bill to sharply restrict mail-in voting, which is a concern for Republicans worried that it could hurt turnout in rural areas.
Critics, including Democrats, say the bill targets a nearly non-existent problem of non-citizen voting, which Trump has falsely blamed for his 2020 loss to former President Joe Biden. They also warn that the legislation would disenfranchise American citizens who do not have ready access to a passport or birth certificate.
Some Republicans have openly warned that Trump's unrelenting focus on the SAVE America Act could play into the hands of Democrats, who hope to take control of the House and possibly the Senate in November, and have been quick to seize on the issue.
"People are clearly struggling, and that's what public sentiment shows unequivocally, and Donald Trump has failed to solve that challenge," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNBC on Thursday.
"He just actually detonated a bipartisan housing bill that would help build housing in this country that is affordable for everyday Americans who are drowning and suffocating in Donald Trump's and the Republicans' failed economy."
(Reporting by David Morgan and Susan Heavey; Writing by David Morgan; editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
