House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday morning that the House will move forward with a vote on Wednesday on a continuing resolution to fund the government beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The continuing resolution would fund the government for six months and avert the looming government shutdown. Johnson has also attached the SAVE Act to the funding mechanism. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act attempts to add further measures to prevent illegal immigrants and other noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
“Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government, and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson wrote in a post on X. “Because we owe this to our constituents, we will move forward on Wednesday with a vote on the 6-month [continuing resolution] with the SAVE Act attached. I urge all of my colleagues to do what the overwhelming majority of the people of this county rightfully demand and deserve—prevent non-American citizens from voting in American elections.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, has been a vocal opponent of the speaker’s strategy to fund the government. “Your bill does NOT responsibly fund government,” Massie wrote in a reply on X. “It’s 12 bills rolled into one bill that continues the profligate spending that’s ruining our country. The fact that you’ve added a 13th bill to it does not make it a serious solution.”
“Please quit insulting our constituents,” the Kentucky lawmaker concluded.
Johnson previously planned to have the House vote on the six-month continuing resolution and SAVE Act last week. Amid Republican defections that would have resulted in a failed vote, however, Johnson pulled the bill and dispatched House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., to court more Republican support.
While the continuing resolution has little chance of passing the Senate if it makes it through the House, the current plan to fund the government could help Republicans score two major wins before the Nov. 5 election.
The first potential win, given the duration of the continuing resolution, is to turn the election into a referendum on government spending in a high-inflation environment. Many economists claim government spending has fueled inflation and caused it to persist.
The second is getting Democrats on record voting against securing American elections from illegal immigrant voters, which ties together two major GOP issues—election integrity and border security.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is encouraging Johnson to back off.
“The speaker’s [continuing resolution] is too unworkable,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Tuesday, according to Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News. “I urge him to drop his plan [and] work together to reach a bipartisan agreement with the other leaders … . We do not have time to spare.”