House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to stay the course with his six-month stopgap funding bill that includes legislation that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, despite growing opposition among Republicans.
Lawmakers on Tuesday are set to advance the continuing resolution, which is Capitol Hill jargon for a bill that keeps the government funded while lawmakers work on passing spending legislation, to a vote on the House floor.
Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, remained adamant that the House would have a full vote on the stopgap Wednesday.
But he faces resistance within the House GOP, with at least six Republicans publicly vowing to vote against the bill. They argue it doesn’t cut spending, and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act proposal is simply a messaging ploy doomed to fail in the Democrat-led Senate.
After pitching Republicans Tuesday morning, the speaker wasn’t prepared to turn to a backup plan should this attempt fail.
“I’m not going to engage in conjecture and, you know, try to game out all the outcomes,” Mr. Johnson said. “I think this is something that we should do. That’s what we’re doing. I told the [GOP Conference] this morning, I’ll say it here again. I am resolved on this.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, planned to vote against the measure. He posted Monday on X that he refused “to be a thespian in the speaker’s failure theater.
“The 6-month continuing resolution with the SAVE Act attached is an insult to Americans’ intelligence,” he wrote. “The CR doesn’t cut spending, and the shiny object attached to it will be dropped like a hot potato before passage.”
Democrats are pressuring their members to vote against the bill, arguing that including the SAVE Act is a poison pill added to the legislation.
The law would amend the National Voter Registration Act to require people to register in person with a document such as an ID or passport that shows place of birth. The NVRA currently does not require proof of citizenship but asks registrants to attest they’re citizens or face penalties.
“Just because something’s on the books doesn’t mean people are going to comply,” Mr. Johnson said. “You don’t get to go into a liquor store or you go buy cigarettes and check a box and say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m 21 give me the product.’ That’s not how it works. It’s not logical.”
He warned of the effect that noncitizen voting could have in the tightly contested House and presidential races and contended that “a few thousand illegals participating in an election in the wrong place” could sway the outcomes.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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