Speaker Mike Johnson Criticized as Trump-Bait Bill Fails in GOP House

Speaker Mike Johnson advanced his efforts to prevent a government shutdown on Wednesday, even as it became clear that his proposed legislation was facing significant opposition from both conservatives in his party and Democrats in the Senate.

On Wednesday evening, the House voted on a continuing resolution designed to keep the government funded. This bill included concessions to the conservative wing of the GOP, such as proposed spending cuts and a controversial measure intended to block non-citizens from participating in federal elections—a move that Speaker Johnson himself noted is fundamentally unnecessary since such voting is already illegal. Despite claims from former President Donald Trump about widespread illegal voting, Johnson has been cautious in addressing these false assertions.

“This is the play we’re running,” the Speaker told a news outlet earlier in the week. “I’ll be working around the clock to try to get it done.”

However, as the vote took place just before 7 p.m. on Wednesday, it became clear that the strategy was failing, with the measure falling short by 18 votes. Two members chose to vote present, further diminishing Johnson’s hopes for passage.

In the aftermath, Johnson expressed disappointment over the outcome but opted not to critique his own approach. His party had entered the vote fully aware that the bill—crafted with conservative priorities—was unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate. Moreover, President Joe Biden has made it clear he would veto this legislation if it reached his desk. Adding to the confusion, Trump advised Republicans on social media to abandon any discussions surrounding a continuing resolution unless it included the SAVE Act, which aims to further restrict voting rights for non-citizens—a strategy unlikely to find support among Democrats.

The final vote reflected widespread dissent within Johnson’s party, with 14 Republicans joining their Democratic counterparts in opposing the bill. The lone exceptions from his party came from Maine’s Jared Golden, who had previously indicated he would support the legislation.

A partial shutdown of government services is imminent if a consensus on a funding bill is not reached by October. Democrats are insisting on a measure that would maintain funding for all federal agencies at current levels—except for the Secret Service, which they argue requires additional resources following recent security incidents involving former President Trump. Some conservatives, however, have resisted this notion, contending that past operational shortcomings of the Secret Service undermine their case for increased funding. Additionally, there are factions within the party unhappy that the proposed bill does not allocate more funds to the Pentagon.

With less than two weeks to navigate these challenges, Johnson acknowledged on Tuesday that he had not initiated discussions regarding alternative strategies for securing funding.

Meanwhile, Senate members are working on a stopgap measure that would keep the government operational through mid-December, setting the stage for yet another conflict as the holiday recess approaches. In contrast, Johnson’s funding proposal aims to provide six months of government funding at reduced levels.

“Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government, and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson stated before the vote. “We owe this to our constituents, and we will move forward on Wednesday with a vote on the six-month continuing resolution with the SAVE Act attached. I urge all my colleagues to do what the majority of the American people demand: to prevent non-American citizens from voting in our elections.”

Despite these declarations, Johnson’s efforts have not succeeded in garnering the necessary support from the more vocal members of his party, leaving his strategic direction increasingly unclear. This situation could inadvertently empower Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democratic caucus, as Johnson has previously relied on their votes to keep the government funded amidst internal GOP dissent. This reliance on cross-party collaboration echoes the pathway taken by former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose leadership ended amid a conservative revolt less than a year ago.

So far, Johnson has avoided a similar fate, mainly due to the reluctance among lawmakers to plunge the House back into the instability and inaction that followed McCarthy’s removal. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who actively opposed Johnson’s attempts to secure funding agreements, previously attempted to initiate a second effort to oust him. That attempt failed when Democrats sided with Johnson, demonstrating the complexities and fractures within the party.

“Johnson will NOT commit to standing up against the Democrats in a shutdown fight and will allow passage of a clean continuing resolution to fund the government because he believes a shutdown will be blamed on Republicans,” Greene asserted. “He is orchestrating a facade of a fight that he has no intention of truly waging.”

As the deadline looms, the ramifications of these political maneuvers and divisions within the party continue to unfold, raising questions about the future direction of congressional leadership and governance.

Source: Various news outlets