Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Tuesday criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) after news broke that Republican leaders plan to bring a budget bill up for debate this week despite opposition from various factions in Congress.
“Like an immortal but doomed zombie, the CR+Save rule is back,” Massey said. I wrote in the post On social platform X.
“Speaker Johnson is fighting a false fight by adding shiny objects to a bill that he will later abandon that will continue his destructive spending path,” he added. “I will have no part in this disgraceful farce. I absolutely refuse.”
The Hill has reached out to the speaker's office for comment.
The Kentucky Republican is among the members of the Republican Conference who have voiced opposition to the speaker's budget strategy to keep the government running after Sept. 30. Some in the party are skeptical that the effort can succeed.
He also joined Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in the campaign to oust Johnson from the top spot earlier this year.
Massey's comments came shortly after Johnson announced plans to go ahead with a temporary plan to extend the September funding deadline to March, and to attach a bipartisan bill calling for tougher proof of citizenship requirements for elections.
“Congress has an obligation to do two things immediately: responsibly fund the federal government and ensure election security,” Johnson said Tuesday, adding that he will move forward with a vote on the six-month CR with the SAVE Act attached on Wednesday “because that is what we owe it to our voters.”
Johnson’s decision to attach a six-month interim funding plan, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), to the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act follows a strategy that has been promoted by some hard-line conservatives and former President Trump.
Republican leaders had planned to vote on the budget last week, but those hopes were dashed when it became clear they did not have the support needed to pass the bill due to opposition from some hard-line conservatives and defense advocates.
Speaking on The X on Tuesday, Green described Johnson's strategy as “a classic bait-and-switch tactic designed to infuriate his supporters who find themselves deceived and let down again, just a month before the election”.
“The only way the SAVE Act becomes law is for us to refuse to pass the CR until the Senate agrees to pass the SAVE Act and for Biden to sign it into law,” she said. I wrote to X“This will force a government shutdown on October 1st because both Biden and Schumer are staunchly opposed to the SAVE Act and have said they will shut down the government.”
Proponents of the SAVE Act argue that the bill would ensure that only citizens can vote in federal elections by requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship for voter registration and by requiring states to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls.
But most Democrats strongly oppose the bill, pointing out that foreigners are already banned from voting in federal elections and arguing that the bill would make it more difficult to register to vote and risk removing voters from voter rolls.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, criticized Johnson's strategy in a statement Tuesday, saying “all this accomplishes is making it clear that he is stuck in a stalemate. We must come up with a bipartisan plan instead.”
“Now, I will say this: Despite its flaws, I am encouraged that Chairman Johnson's plan preserves the essence of the Schumer-Johnson agreement, which sets maximum budget levels for FY 2024. I am encouraged that, at least for now, Chairman Johnson is resisting voices on the far right of his party and not pushing through across-the-board cuts that would be very harmful to the American people,” Schumer added.
“We hope this is a sign that the Speaker recognizes that bipartisan funding levels must be part of any solution going forward. But beyond that, the Speaker's CR is just too unworkable.”
