House Republicans moving forward with partisan plan to avert government shutdown

Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Tuesday that the House will move forward with a plan to vote on a partisan stopgap measure to keep the government funded this week, despite Democratic opposition and intra-party pushback that foiled a vote on the measure last week. 

"Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government, and ensure the security of our elections," Johnson said in a statement, outlining that the House would vote on the six-month continuing resolution and accompanying voting legislation on Wednesday.  

Last week, House GOP leaders pulled the vote from the schedule in an acknowledgment of opposition from members of their own party that likely would have doomed the bill to fail. Johnson said at the time that Republicans are "in the consensus-building business," noting that the vote would be delayed until this week while leadership worked to shore up support.  

Congress has until the end of the month to fund the government, making a short-term measure necessary to avoid a government shutdown. The plan is House Republican leadership's opening salvo in the funding fight — a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through March 28, while attaching a noncitizen voting bill that Democrats generally see as a nonstarter. 

The measure, known as the SAVE Act, is aimed at targeting the practice of illegal voting, which is exceedingly rare. It would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The legislation passed the House earlier this year, despite the fact that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections under current law.

"I urge all of my colleagues to do what the overwhelming majority of the people of this county rightfully demand and deserve — prevent non-American citizens from voting in American elections," Johnson said Tuesday.  

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Johnson to "drop his plan" on Tuesday morning, noting that all the move will do is "make clear that he's running into a dead end."

"At this point in the process, the only way we can prevent a harmful government shutdown is by both sides working together to reach a bipartisan agreement," Schumer said. "That's the only way."

Democrats in the Senate make clear that the plan is dead on arrival in the upper chamber, and whether the legislation can even make it through the House remains to be seen. The addition of the voting measure is viewed as a sweetener for House conservatives who often oppose continuing resolutions to keep the government funded. Still, some have come out against the plan even after leadership took time to build support among the conference.  

"Speaker Johnson is fake fighting by attaching a bright shiny object (that he will later abandon) to a bill that continues our path of destructive spending," Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said on X after Johnson announced the vote. "I'm a hell no."

When asked about the likelihood that the bill won't pass Tuesday afternoon, Johnson told reporters that he's "not having any alternative conversations."

"That's the play," Johnson said. "It's an important one and I'm going to work around the clock to try to get it passed."