House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to move quickly to advance Donald Trump’s signature voter ID legislation through the arduous budget reconciliation process once the House returns to Washington, downplaying the heightened tensions within the GOP after he sent lawmakers home early for the holidays after a few Republicans brought the floor to a halt.
Last week, a small group of conservative hardliners, led by Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, effectively blocked a key procedural vote to advance several bills on the floor out of protest that Congress had not sent the SAVE America Act to the president’s desk.
Driven by frustration, Trump has already held up a critical intelligence nomination and declined to sign a major bipartisan housing package, despite Senate GOP leaders insisting that they do not have the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster and proceed with the elections overhaul bill.
Johnson can say that, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. In addition to women and anyone else who can’t put their hands on a passport or birth certificate in time for the election, that act is going to hit rural areas hard. Simple farmers. People of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know, Republicans.
Most of those areas are red enough that it won’t matter what percent end up unable to vote for that reason.
gop knows that passport services are very limited in rural or even red areas. even in a blue area passports are quite limited to a few areas: only the passport agency and a smattering of USPS office, which are often booked months in advance. if its a first time passport, they have to go extra steps.
birth certificate might easier or harder depending on your path, you can get it online, but it cost more than in person.