Johnson unveils new plan to avoid shutdown amid tension in GOP, scraps Trump-backed election measure

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is unveiling a caller program for avoiding a partial government shutdown connected Sunday aft a House GOP rebellion derailed a much blimpish measurement past week.

House leaders are aiming for a ballot this week connected a short-term hold of the existent year’s authorities backing levels, called a continuing solution (CR), to springiness Congressional negotiators much clip to hash retired national spending priorities for the caller fiscal twelvemonth opening Oct. 1.

The caller measure, person successful enactment with what Senate Democrats and the White House had called for than his archetypal plan, is apt to spark fury among the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and its allies. But astir Republicans are wary of the backlash of a imaginable authorities shutdown conscionable weeks earlier Election Day.

Johnson took a swipe astatine the precocious enclosure for failing to walk a azygous 1 of their 12 appropriations bills, penning to House GOP colleagues connected Sunday that due to the fact that "Senate Democrats failed to walk a azygous appropriations measure oregon negociate with the House connected an acceptable topline fig for FY 2025, a continuing solution is the lone enactment that remains."

JOHNSON'S PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS REPUBLICANS REBEL

Speaker Mike Johnson released a caller authorities backing program that includes further Secret Service backing aft the attempts astatine erstwhile President Trump's life (Getty Images)

The program would support the authorities retired of a partial shutdown done Dec. 20. House GOP enactment unit told reporters connected Sunday that Democratic requests for further dollars were rebuffed, and other catastrophe alleviation funds that were successful Johnson’s archetypal program person been removed.

But it would see astir an further $187 cardinal for the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), coupled with definite oversight measures, aft a bipartisan push for much security pursuing 2 foiled attempts astatine erstwhile President Trump’s life.

Perhaps the astir important alteration is the removal of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a measure requiring impervious of citizenship successful the elector registration process.

That legislation, backed by Trump, passed the House earlier this twelvemonth with each Republicans and 5 Democrats successful favor. Johnson hoped that attaching it to a CR would unit the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House – some of which person called it a nonstarter – to see it, oregon astatine slightest that it would service arsenic a potent opening salvo successful negotiations.

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But 14 Republicans – astir opposed to a CR connected rule – tanked the measure past week.

Trump wrote connected Truth Social up of the vote, "If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and each ounce of it, they should not hold to a Continuing Resolution successful immoderate way, shape, oregon form."

"Our authorities volition beryllium a precise narrow, bare-bones CR including lone the extensions that are perfectly necessary," Johnson pledged to colleagues Sunday.

"While this is not the solution immoderate of america prefer, it is the astir prudent way forward
under the contiguous circumstances. As past has taught and existent polling affirms, shutting the authorities down little than 40 days from a fateful predetermination would beryllium an enactment of governmental malpractice."

Government backing has been 1 of the most volatile fights successful the 118th Congress, pitting adjacent the astir blimpish House allies against each other.

Johnson’s caller program is not apt to abate those tensions. Critics of a CR done December person argued it would permission them with nary prime but to radical their 12 yearly appropriations bills into a monolithic "omnibus" spending bill, thing astir each Republican lawmakers oppose.

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U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Johnson's archetypal plan (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

But House GOP enactment unit suggested it was much apt Congress would walk different CR into the caller twelvemonth alternatively than acceptable caller levels for fiscal twelvemonth 2025 – lining up with Johnson’s archetypal plan.

The speaker’s erstwhile would person funded the authorities done March, thing Democrats and immoderate nationalist information hawks opposed. 

Trump allies, however, wanted to spot the authorities backing combat kicked into the caller twelvemonth successful hopes that helium would triumph the White House and usher successful a afloat Republican Congress.