Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) finds herself in the middle of everything these days. Earlier this Congress, the two-term lawmaker pushed to allow remote voting for new mothers in Congress. And Luna is also leading an effort to ban stock trading by members.
Luna is now in the middle of trying to force the Senate to blow up the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require Americans to prove their citizenship before voting in federal elections. This isn’t going to happen, so Luna has a backup plan.
Luna told us on Fly Out Day that she will pressure Speaker Mike Johnson to attach the SAVE America Act to a reauthorization of FISA, a high-risk move that could complicate the passage of the surveillance law. Congress needs to reauthorize FISA by April 20.
“I voted against FISA,” Luna told us. “I’ve never voted for FISA reauthorization in its current form … The only way, I think, to do it right before the midterms will be on this.”
Luna says House Republican leadership, specifically Johnson, is in favor of her play here. That may be more talk than reality. FISA is an incredibly hard reauthorization issue with a vote coalition that cuts across party lines. Typically, the bill passes with support from members of the House Intelligence and Armed Services panels, plus leadership types from both parties.
The House Republican leadership will have the SAVE America Act on the floor next week. But the Senate is sure to ignore it.
We talked to Luna about her effort to blow up the filibuster, her view of Johnson’s performance and her relationship with Vladimir Putin’s government in Russia.
Watch Fly Out Day here.
