Johnson, Trump to promote bill to prevent noncitizens from voting
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will promote a bill with former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, aimed at preventing noncitizens from voting.
Johnson will hold a joint news conference with Trump on Friday. The top House Republican will tout the legislation to “elevate the issue of noncitizens voting in federal elections,” according to a person familiar with the planning.
The event is also an effort to rally Republican lawmakers to “get on the team” on the issue of election security, the person said.
However, noncitizens are already not allowed to vote in federal elections in the United States, and it’s not a common occurrence. No state currently allows noncitizens to cast a ballot in state-level elections either, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, though some municipalities may have their own rules for local races.
The former president has long falsely claimed that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. He has pleaded not guilty in two criminal cases – one federal and one in the state of Georgia – accusing him of trying to steal the election from President Joe Biden.
Nevertheless, the bill supported by Trump and Johnson also comes as House Republicans hope to portray a united front in 2024, despite the chaos that has often consumed the lower chamber.
Their meeting will be the first public event with the two Republicans and comes at a critical moment for Johnson’s speakership. The speaker is currently facing an ouster threat from conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and has also drawn the ire of other ultraconservatives in the House.
Nineteen House Republicans shot down a procedural step known as a “rule” vote in the House on a controversial spying law this week, a GOP rebellion that effectively froze the House and left the legislation in a state of limbo.