Johnson pushes reconciliation bill amid GOP dissent

House Speaker Mike Johnson is navigating a new wave of internal Republican dissent as he attempts to advance a major spending package before Congress departs for its August recess. The development comes just after conservative lawmakers lifted a weekslong blockade of the House floor on Tuesday, July 14, which had paralyzed legislative activity.

The immediate challenge is a proposed third reconciliation bill, a partisan budgetary measure that GOP leaders and the White House hope to pass through the House by the end of next week. The current framework, which is still evolving, would allocate roughly $70 billion for defense, including funding related to the war in Iran, and $20 billion for agricultural relief. To secure support from conservative holdouts, Speaker Johnson has agreed to attach a version of the SAVE America Act-a voting measure that would require voter ID and proof of citizenship nationwide-to the package and to upcoming appropriations bills.

This strategy is already creating complications. The Senate parliamentarian has previously ruled that the voting measure cannot be included in a reconciliation bill under budgetary rules. As a workaround, Johnson has proposed...