By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) – Hardline Republican allies of President Donald Trump blocked a major defense policy bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, pressing party leaders to advance separate legislation that would tighten voter identification and citizenship requirements for federal elections.
A procedural vote needed to begin debate on the defense bill failed 224-198 after more than a dozen hardline Republicans led by Representative Anna Paulina Luna broke with party leaders for failing to attach the SAVE America Act’s voter ID requirements to the defense bill as an amendment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sought instead to secure support to advance the defense bill by offering to add the SAVE America Act to the legislation after its adoption. He has also said Republicans plan to add portions of the voting reform act to a separate budget bill.
Luna rejected both Johnson offers, saying that neither would succeed in getting the legislation through the Senate, where the legislation has languished for months. Senate Republicans say they do not have the votes to pass the measure.
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. Trump has said he also wants the bill to eliminate universal mail-in voting, a proposal that some Republicans oppose.
Critics of the legislation, including Democrats, say the measure is aimed at addressing non-citizen voting, which occurs only in rare instances, and would disenfranchise Americans without ready access to passports and birth certificates.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
