Some of the House’s most vulnerable Republican members told Speaker Mike Johnson in a call on Wednesday that they’re worried his spending strategy heightens the risk of an electorally damaging government shutdown.
During a private, 30-minute call with members, Johnson laid out his plan to quickly pass a spending bill that would punt the current Oct. 1 shutdown deadline into March.
He’s also going to attach legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. It’s the exact strategy pushed by House conservatives and will almost certainly be rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Right now, it’s not even clear it has enough GOP support to pass the House.
New York Rep. Nick LaLota, a vulnerable first-term Republican, asked Johnson on the call what the speaker would do if the Senate rejected that package and instead sent back a straightforward funding bill without the voting policy proposal, known as the “SAVE Act.”
