House GOP agenda stalls over holdouts' insistence on SAVE America Act

Key Points:

• Republican hardliners in the House are blocking most legislation, demanding the Senate pass President Trump's voting regulations bill, the SAVE America Act, before moving forward.
• A procedural vote to merge the SAVE America Act with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was defeated along party lines, with 14 Republicans, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, voting against it.
• Speaker Mike Johnson expressed frustration with the holdouts, canceled votes scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, and sent lawmakers on an early Fourth of July recess, aiming to regroup and try again after the break.
• GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna proposed an amendment to embed the voting provisions directly into the defense bill to make it harder for the Senate to remove them, though she acknowledged it could still be stripped out during conference.
• The standoff began after Trump canceled a housing bill signing to leverage support for his voting regulations; despite his call to end the blockade following a meeting with Johnson, hardliners continue to press their demands.