All eyes are on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) this week as lawmakers wait for his next move in the fight over the government budget after an initial strategy to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month failed due to Republican resistance.
Following opposition from several quarters in the Republican conference, Johnson last week backed off plans to vote on a partisan funding plan that combined a six-month continuing resolution with a measure requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Congress adjourned this week without voting on the bills to avoid a shutdown.
Lawmakers from both parties and both chambers are waiting for Johnson to announce his next move in the funding process as the Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline approaches. The House speaker has signaled he may try again to pass a partisan stopgap bill this week, but he would face stiff headwinds in the House as critics, particularly Democrats and fiscal hawks, remain steadfast in their opposition.
Meanwhile, both chambers will focus on the fallout from Sunday's assassination attempt on former President Trump – the second in recent weeks – on a Florida golf course. Trump's campaign said the former president is “safe.” The House select committee investigating the July assassination attempt on Trump has already said it has requested a report from the Secret Service about Sunday's incident.
In the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is moving ahead with a bill to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) as Democrats continue to emphasize women's reproductive rights on the campaign trail, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to move forward this week with charges of contempt of Congress against Secretary of State Antony Blinken for allegedly failing to comply with subpoenas to testify about the U.S.'s disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Parliament awaits Johnson's funding plan
Prime Minister Johnson is expected to act on government funding this week, but it is unclear what path he will take.
The speaker tried to pass a partisan spending plan last week that included a six-month continuing resolution and the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would have required proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections. But opposition from many quarters among Republicans meant it would fail, and the speaker called off the vote hours before. Hardline conservatives said they would not support the stopgap measure, defense hawks worried about the budget's impact on the Pentagon, and moderates fretted about the threat of a government shutdown with the election looming.
Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that his leadership would try to “build consensus” on the bill over the weekend, suggesting it could be put to a vote this week.
“The floor leaders are going to work hard to build an agreement, and we're going to be working on that throughout the weekend,” Johnson said.
Asked Thursday how that effort was going, the speaker said, “It's been productive with a lot of people making thoughtful decisions.”
Johnson hasn't said how he plans to tackle the funding fight when lawmakers return to Washington this week, but he has several options — none of which would be unanimously accepted by the House Republican conference.
The Speaker may try again to bring the CR Plus SAVE Act to a vote, but he would still face strong headwinds from hard-line conservatives, defense hawks, and moderates.
Johnson could also leave the SAVE Act in the bill and shorten the continuing resolution period from six months to three months. This measure would ease the concerns of defense hardliners but would likely provoke further opposition from hardline conservatives. But even if the bill narrowly passes the House, it will likely not become law in the Senate. Senate Democrats argue that voting for foreign nationals is already illegal and rare, and that the bill could burden voters.
And finally, the speaker could move forward with a categorical continuing resolution, perhaps a three-month stopgap measure. The move would have Democratic support but would infuriate Republican hardliners and President Trump, who has urged Republicans to oppose government funding unless election integrity is addressed. Some Republicans have said they see the fight over funding as inevitably ending with a categorical continuing resolution.
The speaker could try to pass a six-month continuing resolution, but that would still face opposition from defense hawks, hard-line conservatives and President Trump, who is pushing to include the SAVE Act.
Johnson hasn't said which way he's leaning, but he's in a tough spot as he tries to maintain his leadership in the next Congress, avoid a government shutdown and protect his position in the Republican conference, with no option that would satisfy all House Republicans, especially those trying to maintain support among hardline conservatives.
Congress responds to assassination attempt on President Trump
Sunday's assassination attempt on Trump was the second in recent weeks and is expected to be a focus of attention this week as lawmakers in Congress investigate cases against the former president.
Rep. Mark Kelly (R-PA), chairman of the Trump assassination attempt task force, and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a senior member of the task force, said they had already asked the Secret Service for a briefing on the incident. statement “I am deeply concerned about political violence,” he said.
“The Task Force is monitoring the assassination attempt on former President Trump that occurred this afternoon in West Palm Beach. We have requested a report from the U.S. Secret Service on what happened and how security responded,” they wrote. “While we are grateful that the former president was not harmed, we are deeply concerned about political violence and condemn all forms of violence. The Task Force will share updates as more information becomes available.”
News of the assassination attempt was first made public just before 2:30 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, with a statement from the Trump campaign's communications director saying, “President Trump heard gunfire nearby but is safe. No further details are available at this time.”
Authorities later held a press conference saying that a Secret Service agent had opened fire on a gunman near the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump was playing golf at the time. One man was in custody in connection with the incident.
Leading lawmakers reacted to the news on Sunday. Johnson met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate after the incident, a source told The Hill, and was briefed on the matter. Johnson posted a photo of himself with the former president. About X“Today we thank God for protecting him,” he and his wife wrote.
“Political violence of any kind has no place in this country, and perpetrators must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer wrote in a statement Sunday.
Senate to Vote on Protecting Access to IVF
The Senate is set to vote this week on a bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization, the second such vote this year as Democrats continue to focus on women's reproductive rights issues on the campaign trail.
Senate Republicans blocked an effort to enact IVF access into law in June, but the Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to move the bill forward. Only two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), joined Democrats in supporting the bill, resulting in a final vote of 48-47.
Schumer said in a letter to colleagues on Sunday that he wanted to give Republicans a second chance to vote in favor of protecting access to IVF.
“The American people deserve another chance to see Republican senators back up their words and vote for or against access to IVF. That's it,” he wrote.
But this week's vote came after Trump declared that if he won the election, his administration would get the government or insurance companies to pay for IVF treatment — a statement that sought to change the dynamics of the debate over women's reproductive rights.
Most Republicans have publicly voiced support for IVF, but a debate within the GOP about whether life begins at conception has muddied the party's message. Republican senators tried to introduce their own IVF bill after it was voted down in June, but Democrats blocked it.
Democrats, on the other hand, argue that the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade opened the door to an anti-IVF movement. The issue gained national attention following the Alabama Supreme Court's February ruling that frozen embryos are considered equivalent to children and that discarding them could be a crime. In March, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed a bill into law to protect IVF donors from the ruling.
House committee moves to hold Blinken in contempt
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to consider a bill this week to hold Secretary of State Blinken in contempt of Congress as the Republican-led committee continues its efforts to secure the secretary of state's testimony about the U.S.'s disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
The amendment, scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, comes after House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) subpoenaed Secretary of State Blinken on September 3 to testify before the committee following the release of his report on the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The 115-page report is the culmination of more than three years of investigation.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that while Secretary of State Blinken would not be able to appear before the committee on the proposed dates, the State Department had “presented several reasonable alternatives to accommodate Chairman McCaul's hearing request, including suggesting another senior witness to testify next week or making the Secretary of State available to testify at a later date that would be convenient for the committee's schedule.”
“It is unfortunate that instead of negotiating in good faith with the Department and accepting our repeated invitations for testimony, the Committee is moving forward with this amendment without further discussion,” Miller said.
If the contempt resolution passes the committee, it will be sent to the full House for a vote.
