Vice President Vance delivered the closing pitch in support of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA.) government fundraising bill at the House GOP private conference meeting held on Tuesday, when the House is scheduled to vote for the measure.
Members said Vance claimed that the six-month funding measure would allow the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal programs and continue to suspend spending.
“That's his number one goal,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, a GOP holdout in Tennessee, urged Republicans to support the measure.
And Vance warned GOP lawmakers that Republicans would be blamed for the closure if the suspension fails inside the house, a room source told the hill. But if the bill cleans up the House and blocks it in the Senate, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) will bear the burden of turning off the lights in Washington.
“If it passes and signs the law, the US will benefit!” According to a source, the vice president added.
The message came amid uncertainty regarding the fate of the Continuous Solution (CR) within the home. Many Republicans are still undecided about the measure, with at least one GOP lawmaker pledging to vote “no,” and Democrats are expected to oppose the large group of laws.
With the shutdown deadline looming on midnight Friday, President Trump has supported the Stop Gup, urging House Republicans to cross the finish line and get the bill.
The House will hold a procedural vote on the measures rules at 1:30pm Tuesday to mark Johnson's first test. If that is successful, the final vote will be scheduled until 4pm
Republicans who left the House GOP meeting on Tuesday said the Vance pitch, including Burchett and the person in charge, remained undecided despite hearing about Vance pitches, including Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Rich McCormick (R-GA). Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA.) and Corey Mills (R-FLA.) said they were previously undecided, while Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) said they plan to make a “game time decision.”
Rep. Thomas Massey (r-ky.) is the only GOP vote so far.
The indecisiveness between some GOP lawmakers and Massey's strong opposition is a sign of concern for Johnson, who is working on a thin majority of razors. If all Democrats vote “No” and there are full attendance, Johnson can afford to lose just one GOP vote.
“We hope that Congress is putting together the actual budget, passing it on, and cutting government spending. This is something we all exercised,” Van Doin said he left the meeting with Vance and said that it remains undecided after Vance's visit at the GOP meeting.
When asked if there was a way for the measure to be a “yes” vote, Burchett said “I don't know,” adding, “I like to tell him about my issues and I think he'll turn to me.”
“I want to make sure I'll reduce my spending on the pentagon in the future,” he said.
Cammack told reporters after the meeting that he would like to assure the revession package and topline number for the 2026 Funding Bill prior to the vote.
“We need to work with the White House to make sure we include some sort of withdrawal package,” Cammack said. “We all want to make sure the President and ultimately the country will succeed. There's a very short time to get this done, but we need to make sure those lines of communication are open.”
“We can work with the White House to make sure we're explaining everything Doge is working on,” she added. “We also need to make sure we got our topline number for 2026. That was a big problem.”
A Florida Republican said he was “looking forward to” conversations with the White House later Tuesday, but he refused to say who she was going to talk to.
But despite these undecided votes, GOP leaders have expressed confidence that the fundraising patch will pass, with or without Democrats help.
“We'll vote,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “I pass the CR. We could do it ourselves. But what I'm saying is that Democrats should do something responsible, follow their own advice in all previous scenarios and leave the government open.”
