Trump pushes for shutdown if Congress fails to pass law against non-citizen voting

Washington
CNN
—

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday increased pressure on Republicans to shut down the government unless lawmakers pass a controversial bill denying noncitizens the right to vote, a move that comes just hours before the House is expected to try to pass a six-month funding plan that includes the ballot measure.

“If Republicans don't pass the SAVE Act and every bit of it, they should not agree to a continuation resolution in any way,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump's message to Republicans could make the budget spending dispute even more difficult for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has little room for error given his extremely narrow House majority.

The Republican proposal is considered hopeless by Democrats in the Senate, and in the U.S. Congress, a “clean” extension of funding that does not include the ballot measure is widely seen as the only viable way to avert a shutdown.

Johnson withdrew a vote on the bill last week after enough Republicans in the House opposed the budget plan to kill it, but he has been under pressure from conservatives and Trump to take election security measures as Trump continues to sow doubts about election integrity ahead of the November election.

Two Republican aides told CNN the plan to bring the bill to a vote this week is aimed at proving it will fail. Then the speaker could move on to a Plan B, although it's still unclear what that will look like. Federal funding runs out at the end of the month.

Johnson declined to comment on Wednesday before the scheduled vote on what he would do if the Republican plan to fund the government fails. He said he had spoken “a lot” with Trump about government funding after Trump floated a government shutdown.

Trump had previously stated that if Republicans did not receive “absolute assurances” regarding the security of the elections, they should not agree to an extension of election funding.

Asked by CNN anchor Manu Raju if he would listen to Trump, Johnson replied: “President Trump and I have talked about this a lot. We have talked about this a lot with our colleagues who are building consensus on the plan.”

“We all believe that election security is of paramount importance right now,” Johnson said.

“We do the right thing every day and of course we have a big playbook with all kinds of ideas in it. But when you're on the field and you call a play, you execute the play,” he said.

Many Republicans warn that Congress must avoid a shutdown before the election.

“We'll vote, see what happens, and if it fails, of course the speaker will have to re-strategize. But the bottom line is there will be no shutdown,” Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York told Raju. “There are 47 days until the election. There will be no shutdown.”

When asked about his reaction to Trump's post and whether he feared a shutdown could occur, John Thune, the Republican whip in the Senate, said: “We'll see how it plays out. These are all just hypothetical considerations. Let's see what the House does today. But I can tell you one thing: I don't think it benefits anyone politically to have a government shutdown so long before an election.”

House Republicans' six-month funding plan would extend federal funding through March 2025. The proposal includes the SAVE Act, a Republican-led bill that passed the House on its own in July that would require 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.

“Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: fund the federal government responsibly and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson said Tuesday as he announced the planned vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday of the speaker's plans to hold a vote on the Republican funding proposal: “The only thing this will accomplish is to make it clear that it is a dead end. We need a bipartisan plan instead.”

After Sunday's alleged assassination attempt on Trump's golf course in Florida, lawmakers are considering whether the Secret Service is underfunded or simply poorly managed. Many are wondering what meaningful security improvements can be made so close to the presidential election. Under the Secret Service's supervision, two alleged assassination attempts on the former president took place about 60 days apart.

Schumer said Tuesday he was prepared to provide more money for the Secret Service in this month's funding package if it needed it.

“If the Secret Service feels it needs more money, I would be perfectly willing to give it that additional money in this bill or the next bill, however quickly we can get this sorted out and reach a bipartisan agreement,” Schumer said.

Separately, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters on Tuesday that they were making some “minor” changes to a bill that would require the two presidential candidates – Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris – to receive the same level of Secret Service protection as President Joe Biden. They intend to bring the bill to a vote later this week.

“Hopefully the President Protection Act will be well received by both parties. … We're working to get it on the agenda,” Scalise told reporters. “There will be a few small, minor changes to fix a few things and then the goal is to get the bill on the agenda this week.”

This story and headline have been updated due to further developments.

CNN's Ted Barrett, Danya Gainor, Annie Grayer and Michelle Shen contributed to this report.