Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna announced she would not vote on any legislation introduced by the Senate until the SAVE America Act was enacted. The Senate is expected to hold a vote on the bill next week, though it lacks sufficient votes to overcome a 60-vote filibuster.
“It’s unacceptable that [the Senate] thinks the American people are too stupid to realize that this is a show vote and it doesn’t count,” Luna said in remarks on Monday. “They, frankly, are sick and tired of getting their offices called and being approached in public about whether or not they’re going to actually get the SAVE America Act passed,” she added.
Luna warned that if senators refuse to support a standing filibuster, some of her colleagues in the House should consider primarying them. “This is the bare basics that they even ran on in their elections,” she said. “They promised the American people they would deliver on it and they’re grossly failing.”
Luna stated that once Senate legislation begins to die—a prediction she confirmed—“a group of about 30 to 40 of us in the House will not vote on any of their legislation or the rules to pass it if they don’t want to play ball.”
The Florida representative threatened to incorporate the SAVE America Act into the next Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) amendment. “Some of these senators would walk over broken glass to pass FISA,” Luna said. “Frankly, I’m sick and tired of these D.C. games.”
Luna urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, to embrace eliminating the filibuster so the bill can pass with a simple majority. Thune has previously stated that there are not enough votes in the Senate to remove the filibuster.
“That’s unacceptable,” Luna said. “That’s a defeatist perspective.” She expressed frustration over having threatened to shut down the government over the issue.
Luna also criticized senators who seek President Donald Trump’s endorsement but fail to enact his agenda: “They don’t even do their jobs,” she added. “I’m so sick of it. One of their bills is going to come to the floor this week and it will die. Everything else that they sent from the Senate will die. I promise you that.”
