Republican leaders pulled their government spending proposal from consideration hours before it was brought for a vote on the House floor, sending lawmakers back to square one as they look to avoid a government shutdown just three weeks before the deadline.
The continuing resolution proposal, which would have extended current government spending levels until the end of March 2025, was initially scheduled for a vote on Wednesday afternoon. However, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) decided to scrap the bill altogether after a substantial number of House Republicans came out in opposition, all but guaranteeing its failure.
“We’re going to continue to work on this, whip [Tom Emmer] is going to do the hard work” of getting people on board, Johnson said.
“We’re going to work on that issue around the clock because we have an obligation to the people to do it, and that’s what the fight is.”
Johnson unveiled his plan to fund the government last week, proposing to extend fiscal 2024 spending levels into next year but only if lawmakers attach the Republicans’ SAVE Act that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Although that caveat was made to appease some of his most hardline members, the proposal was ultimately rejected by some of those very same Republicans who demanded including spending cuts even at the risk of a shutdown.
With Johnson’s slim majority, he can only afford to lose four GOP votes if there is full attendance and all Democrats vote against it. At least eight Republicans publicly opposed the speaker’s CR, with several others hinting they’d do the same — putting its passage in peril.
Even if the continuing resolution did make it through the House, the SAVE Act is likely dead on arrival in the Democratic-led Senate. In fact, some Republicans predict sending a CR-SAVE Act combination to the upper chamber would only result in the return of a clean extension of funding levels without any policy riders.
It’s not clear what the plan is moving forward with the spending proposal. Johnson could tweak the proposal to get more of his hardliners on board, although there are a handful of lawmakers in the self-described “Never CR” group who have vowed not to support a stopgap spending bill regardless of what policies are attached.
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Johnson could also move forward with a so-called “clean” CR with no policy riders, which would likely garner support from Democrats to help move it past the finish line. Of course, relying on his colleagues across the aisle to pass a spending deal is certain to anger hard-right Republicans, putting Johnson in a tough spot as he considers his next moves.
Congress has until the end of September to pass its annual budget before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. If not, the government will enter a shutdown until some sort of spending deal has passed — a fate some GOP lawmakers are looking to avoid ahead of the November election.