Schumer takes steps to prevent shutdown as Speaker Johnson’s next move unclear

By Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Haley Talbot, CNN

Washington (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has taken steps that will give the Senate the option to set up a vote next week on a government funding extension as the threat of a shutdown looms at the end of the month.

After the House failed on Wednesday to pass a six-month GOP funding plan that included a controversial measure targeting non-citizen voting, Johnson has not yet said publicly what he plans to do next, but he told reporters that he is meeting with Trump later Thursday. Trump has called for a government shutdown if lawmakers cannot get the voting measure, known as the SAVE Act, passed into law.

“I’m not going to discuss the conversation with President Trump,” Johnson said. “I’m going to meet with him in a little while.”

“I’m not going to discuss details of it yet, but we’re in the middle of the decision process,” Johnson told reporters, when asked about a backup plan to fund the government.

As Johnson charts his next steps, two sources familiar told CNN that GOP leaders are looking at potentially moving a short-term bill into December that would not include the SAVE Act and would instead fund government at current levels and include a series of additional spending on anomalies for disaster and other immediate needs, which is what Senate Democrats have been calling for.

The sources caution that nothing is final and the speaker is still weighing his options, but after House Republicans showed they are unable to pass a bill on their own Wednesday, there isn’t much more leverage available. Many swing district Republicans have been clear with Johnson they don’t want a shutdown in the final weeks ahead of the election.

Senate GOP Whip John Thune told CNN, “My guess is the House will now, I hope, move to Plan B and give us something to work with.” On timing, Thune said he thinks the House will act “early next week in time for us to act.” He added that it would be “helpful for everybody if the House goes first.”

Schumer criticized the Johnson’s handling of the issue, saying at a news conference that the speaker “totally flopped right on his face” by trying and failing to pass the GOP plan.

Schumer did not say if he’s spoken directly to Johnson about next steps, nor would he say if he is trying to get relief for natural disasters or more money for the embattled Secret Service into the bill. “Not going to negotiate in public on this issue,” he said.

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has called for Republicans to shut down the government if they can’t pass the voting measure known as the SAVE Act.

Many Democrats are pushing for an extension into December that would not include the SAVE Act, which is viewed as a non-starter in the Senate.

“House Republicans don’t seem to have any plan for actually keeping the government open, so the Senate will step in,” Schumer said in floor remarks. “Both sides are going to spend the next few days trying to figure out the best path remaining for keeping the government open. By filing today, I’m giving the Senate maximum flexibility for preventing a shutdown.”

Johnson, fresh off the defeat on the House floor on Wednesday, said he will “draw up another play.”

“I’m already talking to colleagues about their many ideas. We have time to fix the situation, and we’ll get right to it. I’m disappointed,” he told reporters.

Johnson is under pressure as he navigates a narrow majority and as Trump pushes for the SAVE Act, which comes as the former president continues to sow doubts over election integrity in the run-up to November.

“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” Trump said on Truth Social earlier on Wednesday ahead of the House vote.

Schumer was asked about Trump’s demand to congressional Republicans that they force a government shutdown if the voting proposal isn’t passed alongside the funding measure.

“Many Republican House members, as many of you have reported, are smart enough to know if there is a shutdown, it will be a Republican shutdown. That they know people know Democrats don’t want a shutdown. And they realize that Donald Trump when it comes to legislating, doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about,” he said.

“There will not be a shutdown. There never is a shutdown — hardly ever is a shutdown,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois. “But the fact that we have to come to the brink so many times is really embarrassing to the Congress.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer, Annie Grayer and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

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