Hardliners Force Johnson to Send House Home Early

House Republicans just watched a small faction of hardliners shut down their work—and send everyone home early. Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abandoned nearly a full week of planned votes before the July 4 recess after about a dozen hard-right members, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, blocked movement on GOP bills, CNN reports. They're refusing to let routine business proceed unless leaders promise a path forward for President Trump's federal election overhaul, including voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements.

The revolt has sidelined what many Republicans saw as their last major pre-midterm elections push, including a Pentagon package that party leaders say would fund the war with Iran. The House won't return until mid-July, leaving only two scheduled workweeks before the August recess. Johnson, visibly frustrated, denied that he had lost control of the chamber but called the tactics a "self-inflicted wound," CNN reports. "We have the smallest margin in US history. We're nearing an election. People get very emotional about things, and sometimes they make irrational decisions," he said.

Luna counters that she's fighting on behalf of "the American people" and will keep up the blockade unless leadership yields. Senate Republicans say they don't have the votes to muscle Trump's SAVE America Act through their chamber, even if the House caves to the hardliners' demands.

• Johnson said Monday that Republicans are working on a plan to bring in a grant program for states that adopt the strict rules the act calls for, the Washington Post reports. He said it could be passed through the budget reconciliation process, bypassing the filibuster, though it's not clear whether Senate Republicans would be on board with the move, or whether Trump would accept the compromise.
• The rule rejected in a 198-224 vote Tuesday, with 14 GOP rebels voting with Democrats, included language that would merge the annual defense authorization bill with the SAVE America Act before it was sent to the Senate, reports the Hill. Luna, however, slammed the move as a "procedural head fake," saying the Senate could easily remove the provision.