Speaker Johnson’s letter resurfaces after GOP fails to pass spending bills

Before he won the gavel, House Speaker Mike Johnson promised to not send lawmakers home before they finished their spending work, but now the House has fled Washington for a month and a half after failing to pass their last batch of bills. 

The letter from Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, where he pitched what qualities would be important for the speaker during the GOP’s search last year to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, resurfaced recently after Republican leadership canceled votes and sent lawmakers home. 

In the letter, he laid out a plan to pass spending bills for fiscal 2025 and included the caveat that lawmakers would “not break … unless all 12 appropriations bills have passed the House” in August. 

“I am confident we can work together to accomplish that objective quickly, in a manner that delivers on our principled commitments to rein in wasteful spending and put our country back on a path to fiscal responsibility. It will be challenging work, but we can and will do it,” he said.

The House has passed only five spending bills, most of which are focused on national security, out of the dozen Mr. Johnson needs to pass before government funding runs out on Oct. 1.

Republicans tried to pass four spending bills last week, but three were pulled from the schedule because of infighting issues that have plagued the GOP throughout its control of the House. 

The last-minute change of action was another example of how Mr. Johnson has struggled to keep his rambunctious conference under control. Some Republican appropriators were frustrated that the bills were pulled and votes canceled. 

Rep. Ryan Zinke, Montana Republican, said the 12 spending bills are “the most conservative bills ever” to come out of the Appropriations Committee and yet aren’t good enough for some of his colleagues. 

“We still have the same formula of a Congress that has members that believe they have the say, and not a say,” he said.

The House is set to return Sept. 9, which gives Mr. Johnson little runway to wrap up spending work before the funding deadline. 

With the ambitious spending schedule set by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, derailed, many lawmakers expect Mr. Johnson will again turn to a short-term funding patch, called a continuing resolution, to keep the government funded until the work is resolved. 

“I think everyone’s resigned to the fact there’s going to be a continuing resolution,” said Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican. 

Conservatives are pushing for a funding patch that would extend into next year, gambling that Republicans sweep the White House, Senate and House in order to gain full control of the spending process. 

However, most appropriators prefer a stopgap that extends past the Nov. 5 election, but it would require lawmakers to finish their work this year. 

Some Republicans hope the remaining crop of seven spending bills, some of which have perennially proved difficult to muster Republican support, can still pass.  

Rep. Robert Aderholt, whose Labor, Health, Human Services and Education spending bill was supposed to be on the floor next week, acknowledged that the measure was “one of the more difficult ones,” but was hopeful it would pass. 

“We will still try. We’ll do what we can,” the Alabama Republican said.