House Speaker Mike Johnson has devised a plan that he believes may be enough to get the SAVE Act passed through Congress.
As previously reported, the Trump-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require wannabe voters to prove their citizenship and present an ID to cast a ballot.
Johnson’s plan calls for merging the SAVE Act with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to The Hill, to force the Senate to pass it.
Speaking with the outlet early Monday, he said he intended to use a process called MIRVing, which The Hill describes as a “procedural rule” that “directs separately passed legislation to be packaged together and sent to the Senate.”
“We’re going to pass a MIRV, or what’s better known as a merge onto the rule,” he said. “So what that means is, when Republicans vote for the rule, they’ll be voting not just for the NDAA and everything else is there, but they’ll be voting to merge onto that the SAVE America Act we passed back in February.”
“So that will send both of those items together over to the Senate, and so if any Republicans choose to vote against the rule, they will be voting against that outcome. So we think this is another good way to show the resolve of the House,” he added.
However, the plan already faces opposition from the likes of Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. In a post published to X, she explained that while combining the two bills would most likely move it past the House, it’d still stall in the Senate without her amendment.
“MIRVing” the NDAA plus either SAVE America or Voter I.D. would still allow the Senate to strip out either or. The only way to ensure the Senate passes this is to make sure it’s in the bill text of the NDAA, meaning that my amendment(s) must be made an order. I’m not trying to be…
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) June 30, 2026
Her amendment, Amendment 1388, would attach the SAVE Act directly to the NDAA.
My amendment for voter ID + Proof of Citizenship has been officially filed to be considered for an amendment to the NDAA. It is amendment 1388. It is NOT possible to add the SAVE America Act to reconciliation. It would fail miserably with the Byrd Rule.
House leadership has… pic.twitter.com/JgbhDdssv4
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) June 29, 2026
Despite Luna’s opposition, the House Rules Committee advanced Johnson’s proposal late Monday.
However, committee ranking member Jim McGovern, a Democrat, warned that the Senate will just strip out the rule merging the two bills.
“Let me be clear: The Senate will just strip the Save Act out,” he said on the House floor, according to The Hill. “They’ve already said that merging it with the NDAA bill doesn’t prevent that. Nothing in this rule will prevent that.”
“And to my Republican colleagues who want this NDAA to advance, you should also reject this rule, because all you’re doing by supporting this shell game is giving false hope to those like Rep. Luna, who think that this will do something down the line. It will not make a difference at all,” he added.
There’s also another problem: Politico notes that Johnson’s package excludes one of President Donald Trump’s top demands — a ban on mail-in voting.
Plus, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has reportedly already indicated he doesn’t believe there are enough Democratic votes in the Senate to push through the SAVE Act, let alone a SAVE Act/NDAA combo.
Trump, for his part, continues to pressure Thune to get it done anyway:
REPORTER: Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he doesn’t believe they have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act.
TRUMP: “That’s what being a leader’s about… We have to be able to get Voter ID. John is a leader, and hopefully he can get the votes.” pic.twitter.com/qsdpFxTkiz
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 23, 2026
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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