President Donald Trump and a group of congressional conservatives launched the House into a state of chaos Wednesday, scuttling a procedural vote on two spending bills with energy and climate provisions, indefinitely delaying the signing of a bipartisan housing package, and raising new questions about Republicans’ plans for a third party-line reconciliation bill this Congress.
The collapse of Republicans’ legislative agenda for the week stemmed from a revolt among Trump and some far-right lawmakers who are incensed that the GOP’s marquee election security bill, the SAVE America Act, is going nowhere in the Senate.
The members leveraged their numbers to handicap the narrow Republican majority and effectively shut down leaders’ plans to advance priority bills. The rebellion has postponed action on the House’s fiscal 2027 Energy-Water and State-Foreign Operations measures, frustrating rank-and-file members eager to legislate in the little floor time left before November’s midterm elections.
“It’s not acceptable to stop the whole business of the House because you got a temper tantrum and you used the rule for leverage,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.), referring to the resolution needed to advance the spending bills.
