Johnson faces unity test on spending deal as Democrats promise not to help GOP
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing challenges as he seeks to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded. Despite past difficulties with hard-line conservatives opposing such short-term spending deals, there is a sense of cautious optimism as a number of them have come around in support of the current CR, wich maintains government spending levels until September 30 and adjusts funding slightly by increasing defense spending and reducing non-defense spending.
johnson can only afford one dissenting vote from his party due to the slim majority, especially in the wake of a recent death among the Democrats, which slightly shifted the balance. Some Republicans, including rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), have expressed opposition to the CR due to its failure to include specific recommended cuts.
Former President Donald Trump is actively supporting the CR, encouraging hard-liners to back it. Johnson has expressed confidence in the measure’s passage and has placed responsibility on Senate Democrats to ensure the government remains open.
Democratic opposition to the CR is expected, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asserting that their caucus will not support the bill. However, some centrist Democrats may be more likely to cross party lines, posing a potential challenge to bipartisan cooperation.
As the final vote approaches, both parties are preparing for potential blame if the government were to shut down, with Republicans emphasizing the consequences of a shutdown while Democrats criticize the spending bill. The political landscape remains tense as the deadline looms and negotiations continue.
Johnson faces unity test on spending deal as Democrats promise not to help GOP
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) must rely on his Republican conference staying united to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open, a feat proven difficult throughout his speakership, as hard-liners typically push back against short-term spending deals.
But Johnson may be able to breathe easy this week, as hard-line conservatives have largely fallen in line behind the CR that keeps government levels mostly frozen until Sept. 30, the end of fiscal year 2025. The legislation, made public over the weekend, raises defense spending by around $8 billion and lowers non-defense spending by around $13 billion. Funding expires on Friday.
Johnson can afford to lose only one vote if he wishes to pass the spending measure with Republicans only, given his razor-thin majority and recent death of Texas Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), who was on maternity leave, was spotted back in Washington at Monday votes. She had returned for the budget resolution vote, narrowing the GOP majority then, as well.
While most hard-liners have fallen in line, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has said he will vote against the CR because it does not include any cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX) has also indicated he may vote against it, leaving Johnson no room for error in implementing President Donald Trump’s agenda. Other possible holdouts include Reps. Cory Mills (R-FL), Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), according to CNN.
As a presidential candidate, Trump stuck his nose into many congressional Republican affairs — including CRs. He normally told the GOP to reject a “clean” spending bill without any provisions for border security or other anti-Biden administration policies.
Now, as president with a Republican trifecta, Trump has thrown his support behind the full-year measure and urged members of the House Freedom Caucus to get behind the funding extension. He is reportedly making calls to holdouts. Additionally, Vice President JD Vance is attending the GOP weekly conference meeting Tuesday morning, the Washington Examiner confirmed.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD), who met with Trump last week, told the Washington Examiner he supported the CR because it would allow Trump and Elon Musk to “continue their work” eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse” across federal agencies.
“I think that circumstance is entirely different now from continuing resolutions we’ve been asked to vote on in the past,” the chairman said, acknowledging his and Trump’s past opposition to CRs.
Johnson has already had to rely on Trump to get hard-liners to support contentious legislation. The president placed numerous calls to conservatives like Burchett and Victoria Spartz (R-IN), who were against a budget resolution to unlock the reconciliation process at the end of February. Eventually, three of the four GOP members against the resolution flipped their votes to “yes,” in part thanks to Trump’s involvement.
The continuing resolution is not shaping up to be as difficult a fight as of Monday night. Johnson said Monday he’s confident the measure will pass, putting the ball in Senate Democrats’ court.
“Because no one wants to shut the government down, and we are governing, doing the responsible thing as Republicans,” Johnson told reporters. “It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing.”
Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) echoed Johnson’s comments in an interview with NewsNation, arguing that “Donald Trump wants it.”
When asked if he was concerned about Massie or others voting no, Emmer said, “I don’t even have a concern about Thomas. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine. It’s going to pass.”
The measure passed out of the Rules Committee 9-3, setting it up for a procedural vote at 1:30 p.m. and a final passage vote at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Whether any Democrats vote for the bill remains to be seen. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has said the caucus will meet Tuesday to discuss the path forward on the spending measure. He told reporters on Monday that the CR is “not something we could ever support.”
“House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican effort to hurt the American people,” Jeffries said.
But more conservative Democrats like Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) often break from their own party to vote in favor of Republican bills, so eyes will be on them and other swing-district members to see if they cross the aisle on this CR.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) said in an appearance on CNN on Monday morning that “we are planning to oppose this CR.”
“The American people want us to fight,” Scholten said. “And they’re going to see us fight.”
Scholten echoed comments from House Democratic leadership that the “disastrous” and “partisan” continuing resolution “rips away life-sustaining healthcare and retirement benefits from everyday Americans.”
House Republican leadership staff have emphasized that the CR does not touch Medicaid or Medicare — a recurring talking point from Democrats, particularly regarding the budget reconciliation process.
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) introduced an amendment to the continuing resolution on Monday that seeks to stop Trump from “illegally withholding or diverting funding” appropriated in the bill. It has 60 Democratic co-sponsors, with a mix of New Democrat Coalition and Progressive Caucus members, as well as Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-CA).
“Republicans put these funding levels in their own bill. Now they have a choice: stand by the Constitution and ensure these funds are spent as directed by law, or enable Trump’s lawlessness and undermine Congress and the Constitution,” Friedman said in a statement. “Any Republican who refuses to support this is complicit in lawbreaking that has been repeatedly rejected by our courts.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said he filed an amendment that “clarifies it DOES NOT give the President authority to reduce funding for Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.”
“Surely nobody will take issue with this,” the Florida Democrat said.
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In turn, Republicans are already placing any blame for a government shutdown on the Democrats through a series of social media posts. Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO), who sits on the Appropriations Committee, emphasized that a shutdown would mean “small businesses struggling to get loans. Assistance programs running dry. National parks closed.”
“But instead of working with [House GOP] to keep America open for business, the Progressive Democrats are doing what they do best—orchestrating a crisis so they can blame Republicans,” Alford wrote in a post.
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