GOP infighting over SAVE America Act leaves critical legislation in limbo 

For the second week in a row, House Republicans have ground their own agenda to a halt over President Trump’s SAVE America Act. This time, 14 Republicans voted against advancing the annual defense authorization bill — legislation Congress passes every year to fund and set policy for the military — because it didn’t include the president’s voting bill. The procedural vote failed, leaving even this must-pass legislation in limbo.  

Here are the facts: The House has already passed the SAVE America Act three different times. The problem isn’t the House. The problem is the Senate, where the bill doesn’t have the votes to overcome the filibuster. Even many Senate Republicans have acknowledged that political reality. Yet instead of accepting it, the White House and House conservatives keep looking for new ways to force the issue.  

Over the past several weeks, Trump has tried to use one bill after another as leverage to force Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. First it was a bipartisan housing bill. Then it was renewing FISA. Now it’s the annual defense bill.  

But........

© The Hill