We’re two weeks away from a government shutdown deadline at the end of the month. When the House returns on Tuesday, Republican leaders will once again face massive challenges in getting the support they’d need to pass House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan for a six-month stopgap funding bill that also includes the SAVE Act requiring proof of citizenship from people registering to vote.
Johnson was forced to pull a floor vote on the package last week amid resistance from some in his own party, including some conservatives who say they won’t support any short-term spending bill. The speaker has reportedly continued to work to build support for his plan in hopes of bringing it up again this week. He may not be able to find the votes he needs, though, given that he can only afford to lose four members of his own conference if all lawmakers vote and Democrats stand united against the plan.
The Democratic-led Senate and White House have already rejected the plan, meaning that at best Johnson would stand to gain some negotiating leverage — and at worst, he’s flirting with a government shutdown just week before the November elections with little chance of winning any concessions. Democrats and some Republicans prefer a shorter-term stopgap that would then allow Congress to finalize full-year funding ion December, before a new administration takes office.
Some hardline conservatives are skeptical of Johnson’s willingness to keep up the fight, even if it leads to a shutdown. “Some far-right Republicans could support Johnson’s plan if they knew he would be willing to shut down the government when the Senate rejects the bill,” The Washington Post’s Marianna Sotomayor and Jacob Bogage report. “But hard-liners believe that Johnson’s reliance on Democrats for must-pass bills has already hurt his negotiating position.”
The bottom line: Republicans remain stuck, given their internal disputes — and the situation is further complicated by reported battles among the GOP leadership team. The Post’s Sotomayor and Bogage sum up the situation: “House Republicans have been in power for nearly two years — and they’re still unable to solve fiscal problems within their ranks.” The most likely outcome remains a clean continuing resolution into mid-December.
