Trump tells New York rally crowd he’s going to Springfield, Ohio, within two weeks

(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday announced he’s pulling a planned vote for the afternoon on a short-term government funding bill.

The measure includes the SAVE Act, which would require individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to vote. Johnson said he will continue to rally support for the act to be included in the spending bill.

“The American people demand and deserve that we do everything possible to secure the elections. That’s what we’ve been saying consistently. That’s what I have heard from the people across the country in 198 cities across 39 states. It’s consistent from coast to coast, north to south,” Johnson said, maintaining his support for the bill. A number of Republican lawmakers have said they oppose the measure, including Reps. Cory Mills, Tim Burchett, Thomas Massie, Jim Banks and Matt Rosendale, among others.

Johnson said he tasked Majority Whip Tom Emmer “to do the hard work and build consensus” on the plan.

“We’re going to work through the weekend on that. And I want any member of Congress in either party to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in U.S. elections,” Johnson, R-La., said. “We’re going to work on that issue around the clock because we have an obligation to the people to do it. And that’s what the fight is. That’s what’s important.”

“It’s the most pressing issue right now and we’re going to get this job done,” he added. “No vote today because we’re in the consensus-building business here in Congress. With small majorities, that’s what you do. That’s what I’ve been doing since I became Speaker.”

Johnson can only afford to lose the support of four Republicans on a party-line vote if there are no absences. House Democrats are expected to remain unified against it for the most part. However, moderate Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden said he would vote in favor of the bill.

Former President Donald Trump posted Tuesday on his social media platform that if congressional Republicans “don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security,” they should vote against a continuing resolution to fund the government.

The White House, Senate Democrats and House Democrats have all slammed Johnson’s plan to tie the voter eligibility legislation to government funding.

House leaders regularly attach priority items to must-pass stopgap funding bills as a means of pushing through measures their members demand.

Johnson’s opening salvo to address the looming funding deadline likely won’t be a winning solution. But with a narrow majority and conservatives clamoring for the SAVE Act, he will attempt to lay down a legislative marker in the House — and give GOP members legislation to point to on the campaign trail.

Sources said Johnson previously told members that he wanted to hold a vote on his short-term funding plan early this week. It was on the

Pressed if he’d accept a short-term funding bill without any policy riders like the SAVE Act, Johnson has said, “Let’s see if they [White House and Senate] have the guts to tell the American people they want illegals to vote in these elections.”

Senate Democrats have already said the SAVE Act is a non-starter for them, noting that it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote, but Johnson’s move sets up a showdown between the chambers with just months remaining until Election Day.

What is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act?

The SAVE Act, which has the backing of former President Donald Trump and the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is a bill that seeks to expand proof of citizenship requirements to vote in federal elections. It bans states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

The House passed the SAVE Act on July 10 by a bipartisan vote of 221-198, with five election-year vulnerable Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with all Republicans. It’s unclear whether that same support would carry over into Johnson’s planed showdown vote over funding the government.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls the bill “extreme and dangerous” and warns it would purge millions of legal voters from state rolls and make it much more difficult for Americans to reregister to vote.

“Let’s call it what it is — this is a direct attack on hard-working families, including Latino communities,” the Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a statement following House passage of the bill.

During a press briefing last Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called on Republicans to drop the SAVE Act from their funding bill and to instead advance a clean short-term version, called a continuing resolution, or CR.

“We want to see a clean CR,” Jean-Pierre told ABC’s Karen Travers. “That’s what we want to see.”

The administration “strongly opposes” the SAVE Act, Jean-Pierre said. “It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. It’s already illegal.”

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young said that “Congressional Republicans are wasting time” when there is a bipartisan path for funding.

“Their 6-month CR approach ignores pressing needs that have real consequences for our defense, our veterans, and our communities,” Young said in a statement last week. “We urge Congress to quickly pass a bill to keep the government open and provide emergency funding for disaster needs across the country, as they have done on a bipartisan basis many times in the past.”

Senate Democrats almost sure to oppose

Johnson’s proposal will set off a fierce fight between the House and the Senate, as Senate Democrats will almost certainly reject the stopgap bill because of the inclusion of the SAVE Act.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray had called it a “poison pill” and a “nonstarter.”

“We’ve seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. Senate Democrats will continue to work in a bipartisan way to ensure we can keep the government funded and deliver responsible, bipartisan spending bills that can actually be signed into law before the end of the year,” Murray said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet outlined a plan for dealing with government funding, but he warned House colleagues against the inclusion of any partisan matters in a must-pass funding bill.

“As we have said each time we’ve had CR, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way and that is what has happened every time,” Schumer said in a statement to ABC News.

In floor remarks today welcoming the Senate back from a six-week recess, Schumer on Monday called Johnson’s opening proposal “transparently unserious and seemingly designed for scoring political points instead of avoiding a shutdown.”

The March 2025 extension date proposed by Johnson also is not likely to sit well with Democrats, who may seek a much shorter stopgap that allows them to continue to debate and potentially lock in annual appropriations during the lame-duck session at the end of this year.

Schumer on Monday flatly rejected Johnson’s timeline and called for a bipartisan path forward, suggesting Democrats will hold out for a clean, shorter extension.

Another funding fight

If it feels to you like we just did this, you’re not wrong.

Government funding expires annually at the end of the federal government’s fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Passing annual appropriations for 2024 was especially calamitous. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his job over it. Johnson was installed because of it, but not without also facing threats to his position. Johnson ultimately implemented a never-before-seen two deadline system to help push the ball over the line.

Congress did not complete its work codifying current spending levels until mid-March, blowing months past the annual deadline. By the time all the bills were passed, they only funded the government for about six months.

Once again, the deadline is fast-approaching at the end of the month.

As of Monday, the House had passed five of the 12 individual government funding bills, including for Defense, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and State-Foreign Operations.

House GOP leaders hoped they would be able to clear all 12 bills, but the reality is that there is not enough time to do so.

Right after taking the gavel in October 2023, Johnson said in a letter obtained by ABC News to colleagues that he would not break for August recess until all 12 appropriations bills had passed the House.

“DO NOT break for district work period unless all 12 appropriations bills have passed the House,” Johnson wrote in his first letter as speaker.

That promise was not kept.

Meanwhile, to date, the Senate has not passed a single appropriations bill.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Air Force has awarded the Silver Star to a female airman for the first time following her role in the shootdown of more than 80 Iranian drones that were part of Iran’s large missile and drone attack on Israel in mid-April.

The historic award of the nation’s third-highest award for valor to a female airman comes at a time when the role of women in ground combat units has been front and center because of critical comments made by Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next defense secretary.

Capt. Lacie “Sonic” Hester, an F-15E instructor weapons systems officer, is the first Air Force woman to receive the Silver Star and only the 10th female service member ever to receive the award. Also receiving the Silver Star on Tuesday was her pilot, Maj. Benjamin “Irish” Coffey, for his role in coordinating the shootdowns from their two-seat fighter and then using all of their missiles and their fighter’s Gatling guns to bring down some of the drones.

Tuesday’s award ceremony at their home base of Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the United Kingdom honored the men and women of the 494th Fighter Squadron and the 494th Fighter Generation Squadron with two Silver Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses with the valor device, four Distinguished Flying Crosses with the combat device, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars, seven Air and Space Commendation Medals and seven Air and Space Achievement Medals.

On the night of April 13, Iran launched more than 300 ballistic missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli missile strike in Damascus, Syria, that killed a top Iranian commander. U.S. military aircraft and naval ships helped Israel in bringing down 99% of the weapons Iran fired at Israel in the attack.

The actions by the U.S. Air Force units involved in the shootdown of about 80 Iranian drones have been described as the largest air-to-air enemy engagement by the United States in over 50 years. Soon after the attack, President Joe Biden reached out to the commanders of the two units involved, the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and 335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, to praise their units’ actions.

One of those commanders was Lt. Col. Timothy “Diesel” Causey, the commander of the 494th Fighter Squadron.

“We all fell into an execution rhythm: Call, shoot, and confirm the target was destroyed before we moved on to the next task we had to accomplish to keep everyone safe,” Causey said in a U.S. Air Force story about this week’s ceremony.

On the night of April 13, the F-15E’s from his squadron flew 14 sorties from an undisclosed base in the Middle East to shoot down the incoming drones. Patriot air defense missiles at the base were also fired to intercept the drones. Some of those fighters had to return and refuel before going back up to engage more of the drones, some of which occurred so close to that base that some of the falling debris landed on that base.

“Although intelligence provided the numbers of how many [one-way attack] drones we could expect to see, it was still surprising to see them all,” Hester said in an Air Force interview.

That night, Coffey and Hester were the airborne mission commanders directing the fighters toward the drones and were also actively engaged in shooting down drones, resorting to bringing the drones down with their fighter’s Gatling guns after they had used up all of their air-to-air missiles.

“It takes a high-performing team with high-performing individuals to be able to find these things to begin with and then to engage it,” Coffey said.

Among those receiving awards this week were many members of the squadrons’ airmen on the ground who helped keep the fighters flying in and out, especially as some of the fighters experienced in-flight emergencies.

Hester’s receipt of the Silver Star occurred the same week that Hegseth drew scrutiny for recent comments on a podcast in which he criticized the decision to allow women to serve in ground combat units.

“I’m straight up just saying, we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said last week on the “The Shawn Ryan Show.”

The process of integrating women into combat units was a gradual one that began in 1993, when Defense Secretary Les Aspin issued an order that allowed women to fly fighter jets and bomber aircraft in combat.

But women were not allowed to serve in ground combat units until 2013, when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rescinded the ban, which was subsequently enhanced in 2015 by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who cleared the path for women to serve in jobs that were still limited to men, including some in special operations.

On the podcast, Hegseth drew a distinction between women serving as pilots and those serving in ground combat units.

“I’m not talking about pilots,” Hegseth said. “I’m talking about physical labor type, labor intensive type job. … I’m talking about something where strength is a differentiator. Pilots? Give me a female pilot all day long. I got no issues with that.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Federal prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges in connection with the alleged hack of emails from members of former President Donald Trump’s campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.

The charges in connection with the hack, which the U.S. government has attributed to Iran, could be filed as soon as next week, the sources said.

The Iranians allegedly gained access to data and files taken from the email accounts of Trump advisers, which included internal documents used to vet Trump’s perspective running mate, the sources said.

The Trump campaign, as victims, would be notified of any criminal charges that happen, as is standard Department of Justice practice.

The Washington Post first reported charges were expected.

The Trump campaign did not immediately comment.

Last month, the Trump campaign cited a report published by Microsoft in claiming they were hacked. Though it did not specifically name Trump’s campaign, Microsoft’s statement said, “In June 2024, Mint Sandstorm — a group run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit — sent a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior advisor. The phishing email contained a fake forward with a hyperlink that directs traffic through an actor-controlled domain before redirecting to the listed domain.”

The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian armed forces.

Federal officials have been dealing with increased hacking activity around the 2024 election. A week after Microsoft’s statement, Google said a hacking group associated with Iran targeted the personal email accounts of “roughly a dozen” people associated with the Trump and Joe Biden campaigns, including current and former U.S. government officials.

“In May and June, APT42 targets included the personal email accounts of roughly a dozen individuals affiliated with President Biden and with former President Trump, including current and former officials in the U.S. government and individuals associated with the respective campaigns. We blocked numerous APT42 attempts to log in to the personal email accounts of targeted individuals,” the report said.

The group, APT42, is also associated with the IRGC, according to Google.

Meta has also issued warnings about hacking and disinformation during the campaign, releasing a report last month that identified Russia and Iran has the top two threats.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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