Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has indicated she will support a procedural rule to reopen the House floor, provided Speaker Mike Johnson meets her specific demands on the SAVE America Voter Eligibility Act.
Luna was among 12 Republican holdouts who voted against a June 30 procedural vote to attach the SAVE America Act to the National Defense Authorization Act through a process known as “MIRVing,” which bundles unrelated bills into a single legislative package.
The standoff sent the House into an early recess, as lawmakers could not advance legislation without the procedural vote passing, leaving the chamber in a rare and embarrassing legislative freeze.
Luna has now stated she will accept the MIRVing approach, but only under strict conditions that ensure the SAVE America Act cannot easily be stripped out by the Senate.
“We will try the MIRV process on the condition that Speaker Johnson attaches the SAVE America Act to all the appropriation bills and all must-pass bills here in the House and ensures it is sent to the Senate as one bill,” Luna wrote on X.
Luna directed pointed criticism at Senate Majority Leader John Thune, warning that any effort to remove the SAVE America Act in the upper chamber would carry serious political consequences for him personally.
“If John Thune strips it out in the Senate that will be on him and the entire country should be watching what he does. If he wants to actively work against Voter I.D. and the SAVE America Act he must face the consequences of his actions,” Luna said.
Luna further accused Thune of potentially using Senate procedural tools to block the legislation, specifically referencing the tactic of “filling the amendment tree” to prevent individual senators from offering amendments to restore the bill.
“He is actively working against an issue that 80% of Americans support. Shame on him,” Luna added in her statement.
Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy assessed there was roughly a 50-50 chance that holdouts would cut a deal to reopen the House floor, according to reporting by Politico.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise voted against the original procedural rule as a tactical move, preserving his ability to file a motion to reconsider, which could allow the vote to be taken up again under more favorable conditions.
The Rules Committee advanced both the National Security and Department of State Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2027 and the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, which would permanently adopt daylight saving time by eliminating standard time.
Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx argued that attaching the SAVE America Act to must-pass spending bills was a constructive way to “move forward” on key legislative priorities, while Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern dismissed the Republican strategy as “show business.”
If Luna and the other holdouts vote in favor of the rule, the House will have a clearer path to advancing and passing legislation before the August recess deadline.
