Last Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) withdrew a six-month stopgap government funding bill that included a citizenship requirement for voter registration due to a lack of votes. Former President Donald Trump immediately spoke out, urging Republicans not to pass a bill that did not require citizenship and supporting alternatives to a government shutdown.
Johnson introduced the continuation bill the next day. As expected, it failed by a vote of 202–220, with 14 Republicans joining 206 Democrats in voting against the bill. Citizenship verification for voter registration had passed the House as a separate bill in July. Protecting American Voter Eligibility (SAVE), 221 to 198All but five Democrats voted against the bill, explaining that it is already illegal for foreigners to vote in US elections and that the additional burden of the bill is unnecessary and will reduce voter turnout.
When the House rejected a budget bill last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed that the Senate would step in and take the lead in passing a clean budget bill, even though the Constitution requires that all budget bills originate in the House. The threat was not well received in the House.
When Johnson polled his party members on the way forward, the answer came back loud and clear: the majority did not want a government shutdown. Johnson then told Trump that while the voter registration issue would not shut down the government, there would be plenty of opportunities to raise the issue in other areas in the future.
Why do House Republicans seem to be hesitant to take their standard-bearer's position? The answer is simple: they don't want to be trapped in Washington in October during a reelection campaign due to a government shutdown, foreshadowing the difficulties and chaos that would bring. Just as a horse speeds up as it gets closer to the barn where the hay is, lawmakers will speed up their home visits and voter contact where the votes are as the election approaches. Once it was clear that ensuring voter eligibility was off the table, the path to a solution became much clearer.
Last Monday, House co-leaders announced a bipartisan, bicameral compromise bill (House Republicans are divided). The proposed compromise spending bill expires Dec. 20 instead of March next year and includes an additional $230 million for the Secret Service, which protects top federal candidates. The House passed the bill on Wednesday, 341-82, with 132 Republicans and 209 Democrats in favor and 82 Republicans opposed.
Republicans have been ambivalent at best about continuing resolutions. Last year, Congress completed the process by passing four continuing resolutions between Sept. 30, 2023, and March 1, 2024. House Republicans voted on average 55% to 45% in favor of the measures, while Democrats on average voted 99% in favor.
Opponents of continuing resolutions strongly support the regular 12-bill process because continuing appropriations would maintain prior year spending levels and perpetuate the growing debt and deficit problem, while supporters point out that the only realistic alternative is a government shutdown, which would have disastrous consequences.
Over the years, we've seen this funding bridge nightmare play out again and again. The last time all 12 regular spending bills were passed on time was in 1997. Since then, Congress has been playing catch-up, or, more accurately, playing the procrastination game.
The next election will inevitably see a turnover of House members due to retirements or defeats of incumbents. There is always hope, or even promise, that the new Congress will try to get critical funding streams back on track and running on schedule again. New members will help to advance these reform efforts. As a bonus, an improved pace of the appropriations process would allow authorization committees to better conduct hearings, amend bills, and debate major authorization bills, producing better, more thoughtful results.
Few lawmakers want to bring down the House with a government shutdown over a budget deadline or debt ceiling violation. The question is whether those few, with their slim majority control, can make a difference in the outcome.
Leaders must address these issues to maintain majority control in Congress. They must also find ways to ensure an uninterrupted, functioning government that benefits all Americans. That responsibility includes engaging all members in devising and maintaining a system that best protects and advances the national interest. In these challenging times, it's a constantly evolving challenge.
Don Wolfensberger is a veteran of the House of Representatives, with 28 years of experience working as a staff member before becoming Republican Chief of Staff in 1997. His books include Congress and the People: A Test of Deliberative Democracy (2000) and Changing the Culture of Congress: From Fair Play to Power (2018).
