Washington– House Speaker Mike Johnson’s ability to carry out President Donald Trump’s “play call” for government funding will be tested Tuesday, as the House takes a procedural vote on a bill to end the partial shutdown.
Johnson will need near-unanimous support from his Republican conference to move forward. He can withstand the loss of just one Republican on caucus votes with perfect attendance, but some lawmakers are threatening to thwart the effort if their priorities are not included. Trump commented on the matter with a post on social media, telling them, “There can be no change at this time.”
Trump wrote on his social media site: “We will work together in good faith to address the issues raised, but we cannot witness another long, useless and destructive shutdown that will deeply hurt our country – and will benefit neither Republicans nor Democrats. I hope everyone will vote, yes!”
The measure would end the partial government shutdown that began Saturday, defunding most of the federal government through Sept. 30 and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks as lawmakers negotiate potential changes to the agency that enforces the nation’s immigration laws — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Play Trump’s “Play Call.”
Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday” that Trump “has been calling for it to be done this way. He has already admitted that he wants to turn down the volume, so to speak.” But GOP leaders looked like they still had work to do to convince the rank-and-file to join them as House lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Monday after a week back in congressional districts.
“We always work until midnight to get votes,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Los Angeles. “You never start the process with everyone present. You work through it, and you can say that about every major bill we’ve passed.”
The funding package was approved in the Senate on Friday. Trump says he will sign it immediately if the House approves it. Some Democrats are expected to vote in favor of the final bill, but not on the initial procedural measure that sets the terms for House debate, making it a tougher test for Johnson and the White House.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has made clear that Democrats will not help Republicans out of their procedural impasse, even though Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer helped negotiate the funding bill.
Jeffries noted that the procedural vote covers a variety of issues that most Democrats oppose, including resolutions to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
“If they have a huge mandate, pass your base, which includes toxic bills that we don’t support,” Jeffries said of Republicans.
Key differences from the last lockdown
The path to the current partial shutdown differs from the fall impasse, which affected more agencies and lasted 43 days.
Next, the debate was about extending temporary coronavirus-era benefits to those who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Democrats were unsuccessful in including these subsidies as part of a package to end the shutdown.
Congress has made important progress since then, passing six of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund federal agencies and programs. This includes important programs such as food aid and full operation of national parks and historic sites. They are funded until September 30.
But the remaining bills that have not passed represent nearly three-quarters of federal spending, including the Department of Defense. Service members and federal workers may lose pay depending on the length of the current funding outage.
The voting bill becomes a last-minute hurdle
Some House Republicans have demanded that the funding package include legislation requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before they are eligible to participate in elections. Rep. Ana Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, has said the legislation, known as the SAVE Act, should be included in the appropriations package.
But Luna appeared to drop her objections late Monday, writing on social media that she had spoken with Trump about a “path forward” on a Senate voting bill that would keep the government open.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank focused on democracy and voting rights issues, said passage of the voting bill would mean that Americans would need to present a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, and that at least 21 million voters would lack easy access to those papers.
“If House Republicans add the SAVES Act to their bipartisan appropriations package, it will shut down Trump’s government for another long period,” Schumer said. “Let’s be clear, the SAVE Act is not about securing our elections. It’s about voter suppression.”
Johnson has served with a narrow majority throughout his term as president. But with the special elections scheduled for Saturday in Texas, the Republican majority stands at 218 to 214, reducing the Republican Party’s ability to withstand defections.
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