WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday withdrew a midterm spending bill that was set to be voted on, thwarting Republican Party efforts to show solidarity with the plan that included a provision requiring an ID to register to vote in federal elections.
The spending bill, released last week by House Republicans in the midst of a presidential campaign in which immigration is a central issue, had no chance of becoming law because of opposition from Democrats, a tepid response from many GOP senators and a veto threat from the Biden administration.
Several members of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives also spoke out against the decision. legislation.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters that lawmakers plan to work through the weekend to find a solution to a stopgap spending bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.
“We are not voting today because we are in the business of building consensus in Congress; in a narrow majority, that is what you do,” he said. “We are having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican Conference, and I believe we will get there.”
Johnson said Congress now has “two primary responsibilities.”
One is to fund the government before the modern fiscal year begins on October 1, thereby avoiding a government shutdown.
He added that the second issue concerns the possibility that non-citizens will be able to vote in the November election, even though it is already illegal.
“We’re going to keep working on this. The Whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus. We’re going to keep working on this all weekend,” Johnson told reporters. “And I want every member of Congress, from every party, to explain to the American people why we shouldn’t just make sure that U.S. citizens vote in U.S. elections.”
Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump published on social media Republicans are not expected to vote on any short-term spending measure Tuesday without a voter ID bill attached.
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, called for bipartisan negotiations after reports emerged that Johnson had withdrawn the vote.
“For the good of the American people, Congress must move away from the partisan standing resolutions filed by House Republicans and begin negotiating a funding bill that will win the support of both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate,” she said in a statement.
“It is time for Chairman Tom Cole, Chairwoman Patty Murray, Vice Chairwoman Susan Collins and I to begin good faith negotiations on a permanent resolution that will keep the government programs and services that Americans depend on running while we complete our work on full-year funding legislation before the end of the 118th Congress,” DeLauro added.
Senators take the floor
Maine Sen. Collins, the top Republican on the spending panel, said she would like to see a stopgap spending bill that lasts until mid-December to encourage Congress to finish negotiations on a dozen annual government funding bills this calendar year.
Those talks were supposed to conclude by the end of the month, but neither chamber has yet to begin conference negotiations, leading to the need to pass stopgap spending bills.
“I’ve been very clear that I think we need to get the job done as quickly as possible and that the CR should not go beyond mid-December,” Collins said. “If it goes beyond mid-December, it puts the new administration at a huge disadvantage because they’ll have to deal with issues that go back to October of this year, rather than focusing on the fiscal year 26 budget, which I think would be their preference.”
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican on the House Appropriations, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittee, said the Senate should wait a little longer to see if the House can send the bill through, though not indefinitely.
“Of course they’re having some difficulties, which is not surprising,” she said of the House. “We’ll just wait. And if it gets to the point where it doesn’t look like they can operate, then we may have to step in, but I wouldn’t say that’s the preferred path.”
Capito said talks on stopgap spending bills, which Congress passes each year after the deadline, “tend to get going sooner than you might think.”
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said he wants to see a stopgap spending bill that lasts until mid-December, citing Defense Department concerns about the resolution’s longer duration.
“Sure, I would like these allocations to be ready by the end of September, but the sooner the better,” he said.
Tester said he supports legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, but disagrees with House Republican leaders’ decision to include it in a stopgap spending bill.
“I don’t think it should be in the appropriations bill. It just messes things up,” Tester said. “Let’s get it on the floor and discuss it. I’ll vote for it even if it’s not necessary.”
