House conservatives end floor blockade, allowing procedural vote on State Department funding
Republican members who had blocked House business for weeks lifted their protest, enabling Speaker Mike Johnson to secure a procedural vote that clears the way for funding the State Department and other measures.
Republican lawmakers who had halted activity on the House floor for nearly a month ended their protest on Tuesday, allowing Speaker Mike Johnson to win a procedural vote that paves the way for several bills. The vote, 215-211, cleared a funding measure for the State Department, a proposal to make daylight-saving time permanent and a veterans-benefits initiative.
Johnson agreed to pair the State Department appropriations bill with the SAVE America Act, a measure championed by President Donald Trump that seeks to tighten election rules. The concession prompted several holdout members of the Freedom Caucus to change their positions, though Rep. Randy Fine of Florida was the sole Republican to vote against the rule; all Democrats voted no.
The blockade, which began in late June, was intended to pressure GOP leaders to schedule votes on the SAVE America Act and a comprehensive border-security package. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a former rebel, said she would support unlocking the floor after the pairing was announced.
Conservative members continue to push for a vote on the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act, which would codify several executive actions on immigration. Some lawmakers expressed concerns that other legislative priorities, such as daylight-saving time reform, should not proceed without addressing election-integrity legislation.
Speaker Johnson faces a tight deadline to move funding bills before the September 30 fiscal-year cutoff and to address a potential supplemental package related to the conflict in Iran, while also preparing a third major bipartisan bill ahead of the November midterm elections.