Speaker Mike Johnson Set to Deploy Secret ‘Plan B’ After His Government Funding Bill Fails: Report
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s recent efforts to avoid a government shutdown have faced significant challenges. His initial plan aimed to fund the federal government for six months while introducing the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. However, the proposal failed in the House with 220 votes against and only 202 in favor. Johnson expressed disappointment but vowed to devise a new strategy, indicating ongoing discussions with his colleagues.
Despite some support for the SAVE Act among House Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that a government shutdown ahead of the November elections would be politically unwise. Johnson has faced criticism from within his party for being out of touch with his colleagues. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has urged House Republicans to collaborate with Democrats for a bipartisan solution as time runs short to prevent a shutdown.
Now that House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to avert a government shutdown has crashed and burned, it is on to what Johnson has told some Republicans is Plan B.
According to Axios, the speaker has not d the contents of Plan B.
Johnson floated a plan that would fund the federal government for six months, and also pass the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Currently, citizenship is required to vote in federal elections, but there is no requirement to prove it.
Johnson’s plan failed with 220 votes against it and 202 for it, according to Axios. Three Democrats supported the bill and 14 Republicans voted against it.
The American people demand and deserve secure elections.
Tonight, nearly every House Democrat voted down our commonsense bill that would have protected American elections from noncitizen voting and responsibly funded our government. pic.twitter.com/wYSWDmVxms
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) September 19, 2024
Johnson said he was “disappointed that it didn’t pass,” but vowed to produce a “solution” to avoid a shutdown, according to ABC.
“We ran the play. It was the best play; it was the right one. So now we go back to the playbook. We’ll draw up another play, and we’ll come up with a solution,” Johnson said.
“I’m already talking to colleagues about their many ideas. We have time to fix the situation, and we’ll get right to it,” he said, adding, “Stay posted.”
The SAVE Act passed in the House in July. We should be putting pressure on the Senate to pass the SAVE Act before any consideration of CR.
I’m ready to shut down the government if we cannot cut funding for federal agencies that are weaponized against the American people and… pic.twitter.com/4UPSqCZoWk
— Rep. Lauren Boebert (@RepBoebert) September 19, 2024
Although former President Donald Trump said supporting the SAVE Act should take precedence over funding the government, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it would be a mistake to shut down the government this close to the forthcoming November general election.
“I think we first have to wait and see what the House sends us. My only observation about this whole discussion is the one thing you cannot have is a government shutdown,” McConnell said.
“It’d be politically beyond stupid for us to do that right before the election, because certainly we’d get the blame,” he added.
Johnson is taking flak regardless, Axios reported.
One Republican member called him “cryptic” and “insular” and said “you talk to members and he’s not where the conference is.”
Hannity: Why are Republicans so reluctant to shut down the government? Why not just shut it down? Because when they shut down the government, it’s not really a shutdown.. pic.twitter.com/2aQa4oG92m
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 19, 2024
Pressure is also coming from Democrats.
“We now have only a few days left for House Republicans to come to their senses, come to the table, and come together with Democrats to craft a bipartisan agreement,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.
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