Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is pushing for a vote on Wednesday evening on a six-month spending bill despite its expected defeat. During the August recess, Johnson announced that he would pair the six-month continuing resolution with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, in part to mollify conservatives – many of whom oppose continuing resolutions on principle. However, upon returning to Washington, DC, Johnson faced opposition from multiple corners of the House Republican Conference, including conservatives, leading him to delay the originally scheduled vote by a week.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) publicly opposed the measure because it would allegedly have a negative impact on defense spending, with other defense hawks expected to follow his lead. A handful of members also opposed pairing the SAVE Act with the spending bill, while multiple members of the House Appropriations Committee opposed the six-month length in favor of a three-month bill. This would give appropriators and Democrats the chance to pass a massive omnibus during a lame-duck session of Congress.
Conservatives further opposed the continuation of spending levels and priorities that they did not approve in the first place. The stand-alone SAVE Act passed the House in the summer with the support of five Democrats, but none are expected to vote for the spending package, meaning Johnson will have to twist arms inside his own conference to find votes. Johnson has not shown a propensity for that particular skill.
Across the capitol, the Senate is preparing to jam the House with a three-month continuing resolution. Johnson met with Republican appropriators on Tuesday, and the group appears to have coalesced to support the package; however, with the vote’s failure considered a fait accompli, the appropriators can support the bill without the danger of its passage.
Johnson has broken from past speakers in showing a propensity to hold votes he knows will fail. The speaker’s tally of floor defeats is growing dangerously close to double digits in less than a year. However, the one vote Johnson would not allow to go down on the floor occurred in spring during the fight for Ukraine aid. In April, Johnson reversed his months-long pledge to never advance foreign aid without first securing America’s border by refusing to attach a border bill to Ukraine aid, claiming it would not pass.
The path to funding the government before the end-of-the-month deadline is growing narrower. Johnson may once again need to pass a short-term continuing resolution – likely a Senate three-month bill – under suspension of the rules, with Democrats overwhelmingly providing the two-thirds support needed to pass the bill.