The House speaker has received frequent MAGA pushback while negotiating deals to get bills through the lower chamber.
House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to work the difficult balancing act of trying to prevent a government shutdown while appeasing hardline Republicans.
On Sunday, Johnson announced a temporary agreement that would keep the government funded until December 20. The bill does not include any part of the SAVE Act, the Donald Trump-endorsed election security proposal that requires people to show proof of citizenship to register as a voter.
The bill also features some concessions to Democrats, including shortening the new government funding proposals from six months to three months. The House must reach a deal to prevent a government shutdown by October 1, about five weeks before Election Day.
The new bill, minus the SAVE Act, will likely get a House vote on Wednesday. Because of the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the lower chamber, Johnson will need the support of every Democrat and can afford to lose only four Republican votes for the bill to pass.
In a letter to House Republicans, Johnson admitted that the new proposals are “not the solution any of us prefer” but are vital to avoid a shutdown just ahead of the elections.
“As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice”, Johnson said.
Fourteen Republicans last week torpedoed Johnson’s previous proposal to fund the government, which included a six-month stopgap and the SAVE Act.
Johnson’s predecessor, former California Representative Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the role in October 2022 after eight Republican lawmakers supported Florida Representative Matt Gaetz’s motion to vacate after McCarthy negotiated with Democrats to push through a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
