WASHINGTON — Despite growing opposition from his own party, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., vowed Tuesday to stay the course and hold his ground. its government funding package on the House floor on Wednesday.
His initial strategy to avoid it government shutdown is expected to fail at the end of the month, dealing an embarrassing blow to House Republicans. Because of their paper-thin majority, Republicans can only edge out a handful of GOP candidates on the ballot, and many of them have publicly voiced their opposition.
But the party’s standard-bearer, Donald Trump, has called on Johnson and Republicans to shut down the government if they fail to pass the fiscal bill. SAVE Actwould fundamentally change voting laws to require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
Johnson did so, even though the plan is dead by the time it reaches the Democratic-controlled Senate, faces a White House veto threat, and likely won’t make it out of the House. Democrats and some Republicans want a “clean” continuing resolution, or CR, keeping the government lights on past December.
Johnson, speaking to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Republicans on Tuesday, would not say whether he would listen to Trump’s proposal and shut down the government over the ballot legislation, but he aggressively defended the six-month CR. it will fund the government through March and is tied to the SAVE Act.
“I’m here to win it,” Johnson told reporters at his weekly news conference.
The speaker then added, “We’re going to bring the SAVE Act and the CR together and get it through the process. I decided that; we are not looking at any other alternative. … I think almost 90% of the American people believe in that principle, and that’s why we’re going to stand and fight.”
“You know how I work: You do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may,” he said.
The first test will come Tuesday, when the House is expected to vote on a rule that will dictate debate time and how CR gets the floor.
However, it is not clear how Johnson and his leadership team brought the rebellious members back into line. If all lawmakers vote, Republicans can leave only four GOP, and at least half a dozen Republicans — including Jim Banks of Indiana, Cory Mills of Florida and Matt Rosendale of Montana — voted no.
Mills argued this week that passing the SAVE Act and CR would do nothing to protect the southern border with Mexico and curb government spending.
Leaving the GOP meeting in the morning, Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., said it didn’t appear any change of heart in the chamber, but he stuck to the speaker’s plan, suggesting extending the funding through early 2025 would avoid the package. loaded with legislative flavors and jammed just before the holidays.
“Doing a CR in December doesn’t give us, frankly, any leverage to bring any accountability to the budget,” Meuser said. “We know that if we wrote something in December, it would be more than just a Christmas tree – there would be lots of presents under it. That’s why we will stand strong.”
Some Senate Republicans are wary of their House colleagues picking a fight that could lead to a government shutdown so close to the election.
“Connections always backfire on Republicans,” said Sen. Tom Tillis, RN.C.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he doesn’t want to see a temporary bill for next year. “I’m always a big believer – let the new Congress start with a clean slate. So my bias would be to do it now,” Cassidy told reporters.
Kate Santaliz and Sahil Kapoor contributed.