A plan by House Republicans to avert a partial government shutdown and beef up election security cleared a key hurdle Monday night but faces an uncertain fate when the full House votes this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, is seeking to pass a combination of a continuing resolution (CR), a six-month extension of fiscal year 2024 federal funding levels, and a House Republican bill to require proof of citizenship as part of the voter registration process.
The plan, along with an unrelated bill, passed the House Rules Committee 9-4 late Monday, the final legislative step before a vote on the full House floor.
House lawmakers are scheduled to hold a procedural vote on Tuesday that would allow the bill to be debated, with final passage expected on Wednesday.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, made the remarks at a press conference with former President Trump in Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
But at least five House Republicans had publicly opposed it as of Monday night, and it's not yet clear whether the bill will pass a vote on the full House.
Johnson holds just a four-vote majority, meaning the bill would likely need Democratic support to pass.
Republicans and Democrats alike agree that the CR is needed to give congressional appropriators time to negotiate federal spending for fiscal year 2025 and avoid a partial government shutdown just weeks before Election Day. The House has passed four of 12 Republican-led spending bills so far, but the Democratic-led Senate has not passed any.
House Republican leaders want to use financial pressure to force Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to vote on the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, written by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and supported by former President Trump.
But Democratic leaders generally believe the SAVE Act is unworkable: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the bill “partisan and extreme” in a letter to House Democrats on Monday, and the White House has issued a veto threat.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, called the plan “extreme.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“As I have said before, the only way to get things done is through a bipartisan effort. Despite Republican bravado, we have moved every budget bill forward in a bipartisan manner, and this will be no exception,” Schumer wrote in a letter to his colleagues on Sunday. “We will not allow poison pills or Republican extremism to put funding for vital programs at risk.”
Congressional leaders must find a way forward by Sept. 30 or non-essential government programs could be suspended and thousands of federal workers could be furloughed.
Meanwhile, in Johnson's own meetings, there is little room for error.
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is urging Johnson to pass a full-year CR to take advantage of rules that would force the 1% spending cuts. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
But the speaker could get some help from Democratic defectors: Five House Democrats left the party earlier this year to vote in favor of the SAVE Act.
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The CR until March means that discussions on the government budget will be taken up by a new White House and a new Congress, led by either President Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.
