House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced Tuesday that he was considering holding a vote Wednesday on a partisan stopgap bill that he was forced to withdraw from the floor last week due to widespread GOP opposition.
The move is risky: Johnson faced growing resistance last week to his plan, which combines a six-month continuing resolution with a Trump-backed bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote, and it is unclear whether critics have changed their tune.
Hardline conservatives opposed the use of interim measures, defense hawks worried about the impact a six-month measure would have on the Pentagon, and moderates worried about the threat of a government shutdown so close to the election.
“Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government and ensure election security. We must deliver on this to our voters, which is why I will move forward with a vote on the six-month CR Act, with the SAVE Act attached, on Wednesday,” Johnson said in a statement.
“I urge all of my colleagues to do what the vast majority of people in this county rightly demand and deserve – stop non-Americans from voting in U.S. elections,” Johnson said.
Asked on Thursday about progress in trying to persuade critics, Johnson said the efforts had been “productive”, but as of Tuesday some of them remained strongly opposed.
“I'm against it,” Rep. Corey Mills (R-Fla.) told The Hill in a text message when asked for his reaction to Johnson's plan. Mills voiced his opposition to the funding plan last week.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) also told The Hill on Tuesday that he still opposes the bill, as did spokespeople for Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
Johnson cannot afford to lose by just a few votes, as nearly all Democrats are expected to oppose the bill. said The bill is sponsored by centrist Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
A failed vote on the government's budget could be evidence to supporters of the plan that House Republicans will need to adopt a different strategy to meet the Sept. 30 deadline for a government shutdown.
Senate Democrats and the White House oppose continuing resolutions, including the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called for a stopgap measure that would expire this year. “A failure”
Complicating matters, former President Trump has broached the possibility of a government shutdown, urging Republicans to “shut it down” and not approve the continuing resolution unless they receive “absolute assurances about the security of our elections,” pleas that could put Johnson in a difficult position going forward.
Nearly all of Johnson's backup options have pitfalls.
If Johnson were to submit a “clean” three-month continuing bill to Congress, he would likely incur the wrath of President Trump for abandoning the SAVE Act and anger hard-line conservatives who had been pushing for a stopgap measure that would last into next year to avoid an expanded omnibus budget at the end of the year.
Another option would be to move forward with a six-month “clean” stopgap measure, which would still anger Trump but would likely retain support from hard-line advocates because of the deadline, but would face opposition from defense hawks and Democrats who want the spending bill completed by the end of the year.
Updated 10:45 a.m.
