House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) plans to reject Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) proposal to add the long-stalled Antisemitism Awareness Act to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, throwing the legislation back into limbo.

Johnson suggested that Schumer is trying to avoid putting senators on record about the bill with a standalone vote, and that the legislation could be outside the scope of the annual defense and national security bill, which routinely serves as a vehicle for a host of other legislation.

“It has been reported that Leader Schumer wants to avoid a vote of accountability and instead attach the Antisemitism Awareness Act to the annual NDAA legislation. By necessity, the NDAA will be strictly limited to matters pertaining to national security,” Johnson said in a statement to Jewish Insider. 

“The House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act more than six months ago. Leader Schumer should simply put the Antisemitism bill on the Senate floor without delay, give Senators a chance to debate this very important issue, and pass this bill on its own.”

Schumer’s proposal, made in negotiations with the top congressional leaders (known as the “four corners”), would require support from Johnson, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to move forward.

“We will wait to hear from them as part of the four corner negotiation on our request,” Schumer spokesperson Angelo Roefaro responded.

Schumer had reportedly settled on the NDAA as the vehicle he wanted to use to pass the legislation. It’s not clear yet whether the Senate could move to add the legislation to the NDAA as an amendment through an alternative process.