House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled his six-month government funding patch from a planned vote Wednesday because not enough Republicans would support it.
The continuing resolution is a short-term funding measure designed to keep the government open. It included legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The inclusion of that Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a bill championed by former President Donald Trump, proved a foil in Mr. Johnson’s spending plan. That’s because some Republicans believed it was just a messaging ploy failing to cover for a lack of spending cuts and boosts to military spending in the underlying funding legislation.
Mr. Johnson has been bullish on keeping the measure attached to the stopgap bill and told reporters he planned to continue negotiating with Republicans over the weekend to get more support. That means the bill could reappear for a vote next week.
Congress has until Oct. 1 to pass the funding patch or face a partial government shutdown ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
“No vote today because we’re in the consensus-building business here in Congress,” said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, outside the lower chamber. “With small majorities, that’s what you do. That’s what I’ve been doing since I became speaker.”
He added, “We’re having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican conference, and I believe we’ll get there. So people have concerns about all sorts of things. That’s how the process works, and sometimes it takes a little more time.”
At least a half-dozen Republicans publicly opposed the bill, and nearly all Democrats planned to vote against it because they considered the SAVE Act a nonstarter, saying it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Republicans push back on that, saying migrants could find a way to vote on Nov. 5 and probably will lean Democrat. Given Mr. Johnson’s four-vote majority, the opposition within the GOP was enough to sink the chances of the bill before it even hit the House floor.
If Mr. Johnson’s plan to shore up more support from Republicans fails, he will likely have to resort to passing a clean stopgap bill, or government funding legislation without policy add-ons.
Shortly after Mr. Johnson’s announcement, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, called for other leaders of the House and Senate spending panels to negotiate a bipartisan stopgap bill.
“For the good the American people, Congress must move on from House Republicans’ partisan continuing resolution proposals and begin negotiating a funding bill that can earn the support of both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate,” Ms. DeLauro said in a statement.
The House passed the SAVE Act in July, but it has since gone untouched by the Democrat-led Senate and faces a veto threat from the White House. Five Democrats in tight races in swing districts joined Republicans to pass the legislation at the time, but their support wasn’t guaranteed for its revival with a stopgap bill.
At least one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, told The Hill that he would vote in favor of the bill, a move that would defy his party’s pressure to vote against it.
The measure from Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, would amend the National Voter Registration Act to require people to produce documentation that proves they’re citizens when they register to vote.
The NVRA doesn’t require proof of citizenship but asks registrants to attest they’re citizens or face penalties.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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