WASHINGTON – The House on Wednesday is set to pass a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown next week after Donald Trump scrapped a plan that would have required Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.
House Republican leaders, facing defections within their own ranks, are relying heavily on Democratic votes to approve the measure. If it passes, it will go to the Senate, which hopes to quickly approve it Wednesday night ahead of an Oct. 1 shutdown deadline. Both houses adjourn this week for a long recess until the Nov. 5 election.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. And the package negotiated by top Democrats would fund the government at current levels until Dec. 20, before the holidays. It would also give the Secret Service an additional $231 million, including for operations related to the presidential campaign, in the wake of two apparent attempts to assassinate Trump.
Although it is already illegal and rare for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, Trump has publicly urged congressional Republicans to shut down the government if they cannot pass proof-of-citizen voting legislation known as the SAVE Act.
But after the House rejected a package last week that combined government funding and the SAVE Act, Johnson scrapped the Trump-backed election law and brought a new, mostly clean spending bill to the floor. Defending the move, Johnson and other prominent Republicans argued that the GOP-led shutdown 35 days before Election Day was “political malpractice.”
Johnson denied “overruling Trump” on the voting law, arguing that they had remained in close contact throughout the funding fight and that they both believed the SAVE Act was important to ensuring electoral integrity.
“I am not defying President Trump. I spoke to him at length and he was very frustrated about the situation. His concern is electoral security, which is mine. It’s all ours,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DNY, for failing to take up SAVE legislation as a separate measure in the Senate. “We passed the Savings Act over the summer and it’s sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk collecting dust; it’s maddening for us,” Johnson said. “President Trump understands the current predicament we’re in, so there’s no daylight between us.”
If it becomes law, the stopgap bill will set up another shutdown battle in the lame-duck post-election session, but both sides will benefit from knowing the balance of power next year.
“I think the vast majority of Congress doesn’t want a shutdown,” said Sen. R-Ark. John Boozman said. “So let’s get past the election and decide what to do.”
A short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, requires two-thirds support to pass because it falls under a fast-track process called “suspension of rules.” That’s required because conservatives on the Johnson-aligned rules committee refused to help push the package through the committee.
“It’s the same with kicking a can down the road,” he lamented. Don Bishop, RN.C., a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, plans to vote no.
Instead of blaming Johnson, former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., pointed the finger at Senate Democrats who failed to pass any of the 12 annual government funding bills for the new fiscal year.
“You always blame all these things on us, but the Senate has put zero appropriations bills on the floor. Zero,” Perry said. “You have to have a dance partner, and our partner refuses to come.”
Schumer said he’s glad the House GOP knows that “partisan bullying tactics” won’t work on funding measures, even if time is wasted.
“As both parties work to avoid a shutdown, we encourage House Republican leadership to bring this bill forward and pass it quickly. Time is of the essence,” he said Tuesday. “Once the House acts, the Senate will move quickly to complete the CR.” I encourage my colleagues on both sides to prioritize speedy passage of the CR. If we work together, we can avoid poison pills and discrimination and avoid government shutdowns.
