Johnson's financing initiative is on the verge of failure in the face of Republican opposition

Washington
CNN
—

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson's push for state funding is on the verge of collapse in the face of Republican opposition as the Louisiana Republican tries to navigate the shutdown battle, a narrow majority and the demands of former President Donald Trump.

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a six-month government funding bill that includes a controversial measure targeting noncitizens' right to vote. But at least seven House Republicans have already come out against the funding bill, enough to kill it along with Democratic opposition in the House, and in the Democratic-controlled Senate, the bill is considered doomed from the start. The Biden administration has also said the president would veto the measure.

Failure to pass the Republican funding plan in the House would be a major embarrassment for House Republicans, who would once again be exposed to internal divisions and would be left scrambling to figure out what to do next as the government shutdown deadline approaches at the end of the month.

House Republicans' six-month funding plan, which cleared a first procedural hurdle on Tuesday, would extend state funding through March 2025. The proposal includes the SAVE Act, a Republican-led bill that passed the House on its own in July that requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, even though it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.

The push for the bill comes at a time when Trump and his allies continue to sow doubts about the integrity of the election ahead of the 2024 election.

In a message that could further complicate the effort to secure government funding for Republicans, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday: “Unless Republicans in the House and Senate receive absolute assurances on election security, THEY SHOULD NOT ADVANCE A CONTINUING BUDGET RESOLUTION.”

Johnson then stressed that he agreed with Trump on funding the government, telling CNN's Jake Tapper on “The Lead” on Tuesday: “I think President Trump is saying exactly what I said, which is that we need assurances on election security and funding the government.”

Johnson is trying to salvage the short-term budget plan despite Republican backlash, but did not rule out passing a “clean” bill to keep the government going when pressed by CNN's Manu Raju on Tuesday.

“I'm in it to win,” the spokesman said. “I'm not going to engage in speculation and, you know, try to play through all the outcomes.”

Johnson's insistence on moving forward with the plan comes as frustrated right-wing members of his conference have predicted that the SAVE Act would likely be dropped once the Senate rejects the measure, even if the funding bill manages to pass the House.

The speaker has not yet presented a Plan B. Many conservatives in the House of Representatives also fundamentally reject short-term financing legislation and instead advocate spending cuts.

Johnson insisted Tuesday that Republicans in the House are “moving forward with legislation” despite facing significant opposition in his own caucus, acknowledging, “I still need to talk to a few colleagues. We'll do that today.”

He said the conference had a “good session” on Tuesday morning with “some very deep discussions”.