President Donald Trump has previously demanded that the pending bill to keep the government funded be sent to his desk promptly, without changes. However, two Republicans have a different idea.
On Monday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) tweeted that she is prepared to mount a “standing filibuster” of the bill the Republican-controlled Senate sent to the House of Representatives. Luna is insisting that the SAVE Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship before being able to cast a ballot, be included in the House version of the bill.
Luna emphasized in her post that Trump supports including the SAVE Act in the final legislation. She tweeted, “Just left the White House. POTUS wants the SAVE America Act passed! Voter ID is number one.”
However, Luna’s claim that Trump wants to add the controversial bill to a must-pass government funding package has not yet been corroborated by the president.
Trump’s latest position, posted to Truth Social Monday evening, stated that he is “working hard with Speaker Johnson to get the current funding deal, which passed in the Senate last week, through the House and to my desk, where I will sign it into Law, IMMEDIATELY! We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY. There can be NO CHANGES at this time.”
He continued, “We will work together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown that will hurt our Country so badly — one that will not benefit Republicans or Democrats. I hope everyone will vote, YES!”
According to Semafor reporter Eleanor Mueller, Luna has found an ally in her goal to pass the SAVE Act in the form of Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Luna told Mueller that both she and Burchett “feel very comfortable” insisting on the SAVE Act’s inclusion in the funding bill.
https://www.alternet.org/republicans-trump-shutdown/
