House to vote to extend government funding with Johnson once again in need of Democratic support

Originally Published: 25 SEP 24 06:00 ET

By Clare Foran, Lauren Fox, Sarah Ferris and Haley Talbot, CNN

Washington (CNN) — The House is expected to vote Wednesday to pass a government funding extension with Speaker Mike Johnson once again poised to rely on a substantial number of votes from Democrats to get the bill over the finish line.

The bill will fund the government until December 20, setting up a high-stakes fight over spending right before the Christmas holiday and one that Johnson has privately told his conference he’ll try to stop from ending in yet another massive bill known as an omnibus.

Once the House passes the bill as expected, the Senate will next take it up. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that the chamber had reached an agreement to vote on the extension after it passes the House on Wednesday, averting a shutdown.

For Johnson, the latest spending episode highlights the Louisiana Republican’s relentless struggle to balance keeping his right flank from all-out rebellion while also ensuring he can complete the basic functions of governing, a key concern for his more moderate, vulnerable members in swing districts, especially with just weeks to go until the election.

“A shutdown is bad governance, and it’s bad politics,” Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, told CNN about Johnson’s call. “I think he’s doing right.”

Making the political calculus even more complicated, Johnson has also had to navigate demands from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has called for a government shutdown unless Republicans secure passage of a controversial bill targeting noncitizen voting, known as the SAVE Act, alongside government funding. Several Republicans have made the case to Trump and his team that a shutdown would risk their ability to keep their House majority – as well as Trump’s ability to flip the White House, according to multiple GOP lawmakers and senior aides.

Last week, Johnson tried to push forward with a plan that included a six-month spending bill and the SAVE Act, but ultimately that package met resistance from conservatives who argued they were completely opposed to any short-term spending bill at all. Several other Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee opposed it because they refused to approve new funding for the Pentagon.

“I like the plan we had last week. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the votes for it,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, told CNN. “I plan on not voting for the (continuing resolution). I think Mike’s doing a good job. It’s a tough position he’s in.”

Now, Johnson needs substantial Democratic support to make up for GOP defections.

House Republicans are expected to bypass GOP opposition to the spending bill by using a procedural move that would rely heavily on Democrats to pass the legislation, a maneuver known as suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass legislation.

Relying on votes from Democrats has opened Johnson up once again to criticism from his right flank, though few Republicans expect the speaker will face any immediate political repercussions. GOP lawmakers say Johnson is expected to escape the fate of his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by Republicans roughly one year ago after working with Democrats to avert a shutdown.

That’s in part because of Johnson’s existing relationships with his conference, which he has worked to maintain even as he pushes a bill unpopular with his conference. The day after Johnson’s leadership team unveiled the plan, the speaker personally attended a meeting of the House Freedom Caucus to discuss his lack of other options to keep the government open, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Yet it’s unclear if Johnson was able to convince any of those ultraconservative Republicans – who typically oppose government funding bills – to change their positions.

“It’s all the same thing over and over again,” said Rep. Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican and former Freedom Caucus chairman, who said he will oppose the funding bill.

Still, he acknowledged that Johnson had no other choice with Democrats controlling the Senate: “Nobody loves it. But, you don’t have many options.”

Johnson has said that he believes Trump understands House Republicans don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE Act. And the speaker insisted on Monday that he is not concerned he could lose his gavel over the funding push.

“We have to make tough decisions in leadership. This is the last available option to us,” Johnson said. “None of us like it, but we can’t shut the government down 39 days before an election. It’d be political malpractice.”

While the short-term government funding extension the House is set to vote on does not include the SAVE Act, it does include an additional $231 million for the US Secret Service to help the agency protect the 2024 presidential candidates. This comes after lawmakers have called for more resources in the wake of two apparent assassination attempts against Trump.

Pushing the funding deadline into late December raises questions over what strategy lawmakers will pursue to prevent a holiday season shutdown. The political landscape will be vastly altered by that time in the wake of the November elections, although the newly-elected president will not have been sworn in yet.

Many lawmakers, and conservatives in particular, oppose sweeping spending packages known as an omnibus, but the pressure could be on Hill leaders to either take that route or pass yet another short-term extension.

At a members-only meeting on Tuesday morning, Johnson promised his colleagues that he would not allow his conference to accept that dreaded massive year-end spending bill. But even his close colleagues privately say there are no other real alternatives if the narrowly divided House GOP can’t agree on a spending plan among themselves.

“In difficult times we (have) got to make difficult decisions. That is what is happening here,” Johnson argued. He vowed “we will fight” during the lame duck for GOP priorities.

“We will not do a Christmas omnibus,” he said after the meeting. “No way, not gonna do it.”

Senate GOP Whip John Thune expressed optimism on Tuesday that the Senate will quickly approve the funding extension when it comes over to the chamber, even saying it’s possible it could get done Wednesday, though he cautioned that the situation is fluid and could change.

“I think everybody is prepared to, you know, punt this into December and litigate it then go back and try and win the election,” Thune told reporters.

Johnson’s struggle over government funding is certain to play a major role in this fall’s GOP leadership race, which is expected to take place shortly after the November elections.

As that internal contest nears, Johnson’s own leadership deputies are working to shore up their own relationships across the House GOP. Several Republicans highlighted the outreach from House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

In recent days, for instance, Emmer’s team gave personally engraved hockey sticks to several House Republicans that thanked them for their service to the chamber. At least two Republican lawmakers said they received them shortly after they voted against the GOP stopgap spending bill, according to two GOP sources familiar with the matter.

“Hockey mementos are a long-standing tradition for Emmer, intended as a small token of appreciation for members of the House Republican team,” according to a third person familiar with the outreach.

CNN’s Ted Barrett, Annie Grayer and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.

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