The House is expected to vote on the continuing resolution on Wednesday, Johnson announced in a statement. The plan seeks to extend current government spending levels until the end of March 2025 while attaching Republicans’ SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

“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 post on X. “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.”

It’s not clear whether the legislation has enough support to advance the House, which was a struggle Johnson faced last week. Although the bill was initially scheduled for a vote last Wednesday, the speaker pulled it from consideration just hours before due to a lack of support from nearly a dozen GOP lawmakers. 

House GOP leaders then continued conversations over the weekend with key holdouts in an effort to switch their votes. Lawmakers have just 14 days before the government is scheduled to shut down and funding will dry out.

The move is risky for several reasons. One, the vote is destined to fail beyond the House — putting lawmakers back to square one on how to move forward with a spending deal. 

Johnson faces several options, although none are entirely favorable. Johnson could tweak the proposal to get more of his hard-liners on board, although a handful of lawmakers in the self-described “Never CR” group have vowed not to support a stopgap spending bill regardless of what policies are attached.

Johnson could also move forward with a so-called “clean” CR with no policy riders, which would likely garner support from House Democrats to help move it past the finish line. Relying on his colleagues across the aisle to pass a spending deal is certain to anger hard-right Republicans, which resulted in the ouster of his predecessor. 

There’s also the likelihood that Johnson may need to rely on the Senate to craft a stopgap spending bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has indicated the upper chamber may move forward with its own clean CR extending funding into mid-December if the House cannot pass something that is acceptable to Senate Democrats. 

Senate Democrats have already rejected Johnson’s six-month proposal with the SAVE Act attached, and the White House has threatened to veto the legislation should it reach the president’s desk. 

Congress has until the end of September to pass its annual budget before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. If not, the government will enter a shutdown until some sort of spending deal has passed — a fate some GOP lawmakers are looking to avoid ahead of the November election.