Speaker Johnson’s funding push on brink of collapse amid GOP opposition
Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding push is on the brink of collapse amid GOP opposition as the Louisiana Republican attempts to navigate a shutdown fight, a narrow majority and demands from former President Donald Trump.
The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a six-month government funding bill that includes a controversial measure that targets noncitizen voting. But at least seven House Republicans have already come out against the funding bill, which is enough to sink it in the House along with Democratic opposition, and the bill is considered dead-on-arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The Biden administration has also said the president would veto the measure.
If the GOP funding plan cannot pass the House, it will be a major embarrassment for House Republicans, which will once again highlight internal divisions and send them scrambling to determine next steps as a government shutdown deadline looms at the end of the month.
The six-month funding plan from House Republicans, which cleared an initial procedural hurdle on Tuesday, would extend government funding until March 2025. The proposal includes the SAVE Act, a GOP-led bill that passed the House on a standalone basis in July and would require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, despite the fact that is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.
The push for the bill comes as Trump and his allies continue to sow doubts over election integrity in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
In a message that could make the government funding effort even more complicated for Republicans, Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday, “If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET.”
Johnson emphasized agreement with Trump on government funding in response, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” Tuesday, “I think President Trump is saying exactly what I have been saying, and that is we need assurances on election security and to fund the government.”
Johnson has been trying to salvage the short-term spending plan amid GOP backlash, but wouldn’t rule out passing a “clean” bill to keep the government open when pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju earlier Tuesday.
“I am in this to win this,” the speaker said. “I’m not going to engage in conjecture and, you know, try to game out all the outcomes.”
Johnson’s insistence on forging ahead with the plan comes as frustrated members of the right flank of his conference have predicted that the SAVE Act would likely be dropped once the Senate rejects the measure, even if the funding bill managed to pass the House.
The speaker has so far has not presented a Plan B. Many House conservatives are also generally opposed to short-term funding bills, arguing instead in favor of spending cuts.
Johnson was adamant earlier Tuesday that House Republicans are “moving forward with the legislation” despite the significant opposition he faces within his own conference and acknowledged, “I’ve got a few more colleagues to talk about. We’ll be doing that today.”
He said the conference had a “good meeting” on Tuesday morning with “some very thoughtful discussion.”
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