Two dozen House Republicans go to war with Senate GOP over SAVE America Act

Rep.Randy Fine, R-Fla., leaves the U.S.Capitol after the last votes of the week on Sept.4, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.via Getty Images)

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Despite clear math problems in the Senate, the group of House conservatives said they would continue to ratchet up the pressure.They also slammed Thune for beginning debate on the bill without having the votes to advance the measure to a vote on final passage.

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“Continuing the same old kabuki shows is unacceptable, and the American people deserve better,�“Majority Leader John Thune can say whatever he wants about my colleagues and me holding the line, but we won’t tolerate Washington’s games any longer.”

“In the last election, the American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump and gave him and the Republican Party a mandate to Make America Great Again.Core to that mandate was a promise to restore confidence in the security of our elections — to guarantee that only Americans vote in them,” the House lawmakers wrote in the letter.

It’s not clear the defecting group has the numbers to immediately derail Senate legislation with significant bipartisan support. 

Forty-one conservatives revolted Tuesday on the House floor against Senate legislation that would reauthorize a program supporting small businesses.The measure still sailed through the House after nearly all Democratic lawmakers backed it.

However, House conservatives’ threats could still hamper efforts by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to steer party-line legislation through the chamber.

TRUMP URGES CONGRESS TO PASS SAVE AMERICA ACT, FULLY FUND DHS AS TSA WORKERS GO WITHOUT PAY

With just a razor-thin majority, Johnson can currently only afford to lose one House Republican on any legislation that does not have Democrats’ support.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on March 15, 2026.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

“On Sunday, President Trump announced that he willnot sign any additionallegislation until the SAVE America Act is passed out of the Senate.The President has also called on the Senate to use the talking filibuster to secure passage of the SAVE America Act immediately, superseding everything else.We agree,” the letter said.“Until that occurs, we, the undersigned, are prepared to vote NO on any Senate bill on the House Floor.”

A Senate GOP aide shot back at the House Republicans over their effort, saying, “Republicans fighting Republicans over congressional procedure is definitely a recipe for midterm success.” 

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It comes weeks after a group of House Republicans pushed Johnson on a lawmaker-only call to reject any Senate-led legislation until the SAVE America Act was passed.

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“If we’re going to go to war against our own party in the Senate, there may be implications to that,” Johnson said at one point, according to people on the call.“So we want to be thoughtful and careful.”

The letter notably did not make a carve-out for aDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS) fundingbill, despite the White House assuring that Trump would make an exception for a spending bill to end the partial government shutdown.