Washington — The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a stopgap measure to keep the government funded for three months, after Speaker Mike Johnson passed a temporary funding measure of his own that will need Democratic support to pass.
Last week, the House rejected Johnson’s initial funding plan, which would have funded the government for about six months, was coupled with a noncitizen ballot measure that Democrats considered a failure. After the setback, which was partly due to his own party, the president said he would opt to put a vote on a noncitizen ballot measure. measure to extend funding until December 20 without the ballot proposal, rather than risk a government shutdown just weeks before Election Day.
Then on Monday, Johnson was delivered another setback when the interim measure failed to gain sufficient support in the House Rules Committee, forcing House leaders to bring the funding bill to a vote in the full House under suspension of the rules — a process that requires two-thirds support of the chamber to pass.
Johnson said Tuesday that he expected the continuing resolution “to pass by a wide margin,” but said he believed “the best solution under the circumstances is CR with the SAVE Act,” referring to the ballot measure.
“This was our opportunity to both vote to fund the government and ensure the security of the election, but we fell just short of the finish line,” Johnson said. “So we have to settle for the last option available.”
The president called the legislation a “very narrow and minimalist” temporary measure. And while he noted that “we hate [continuing resolutions] “As much as anyone,” he said, “it would be a political mistake to shut down the government.”
The vote on government funding
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The vote on the funding measure Wednesday could garner more support from Democrats than Republicans, given conservative opposition to the pending resolution. The same dynamic has played out in recent funding disputes, putting House Republican leaders in an uncomfortable position with their conference.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said Tuesday that with Johnson’s decision to proceed with the vote, the belief is that “Republicans are there to get the bill passed,” adding that Democrats “will work in a bipartisan way to make sure it gets done.”
The House of Representatives is expected to go on a long recess after the vote on whether to keep the government funded, and won’t resume until after the Nov. 5 election. And with the three-month funding measure, they’ll have to meet a deadline before recess to avoid a government shutdown after they return. House Republicans are worried about the outcome, which Congress often falls back on. But Johnson said Tuesday that House leaders oppose an omnibus funding plan over recess.
“I have no intention of returning to that terrible tradition,” Johnson said, suggesting he would push to approve all 12 full-year spending bills after the election.
The Senate will also need to act to prevent a shutdown before the Oct. 1 deadline, assuming the House bill passes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has encouraged the House to “quickly” approve the extension resolution, saying Tuesday afternoon that “time is of the essence.” Later Tuesday, the Senate reached a time agreement that gives the upper chamber two hours to debate the stopgap measure once it reaches the House floor, expediting its passage — and senators’ travel plans.
