Freedom Caucus move could shut down government weeks before election: report

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has tried all year to avoid shutting down the federal government for fear of angering voters and hurting Republicans' chances of winning back the White House.

However, NBC News reports that members of the House Freedom Caucus are cooking up a scheme that could derail that strategy at the most inopportune time.

Essentially, the Freedom Caucus wants to add new proof-of-citizenship voting requirements to a must-pass government spending bill in the hopes of pressuring House Democrats to cave on the issue.

"The Freedom Caucus said Monday in a statement that the group has taken the official position that a [continuing resolution] 'should include the SAVE Act — as called for by President Trump — to prevent non-citizens from voting to preserve free and fair elections,' accusing the Biden-Harris administration of having 'imported' people to the U.S. illegally," reports NBC News.

"Trump and other top Republicans have repeated that claim, pushing for nationwide proof of citizenship in voting by falsely alleging a plot to use undocumented people to benefit Democrats in elections."

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However, NBC News notes that the timeline to get any deal done to avert a government shutdown is already very short, as Congress won't come back into session until September 9th and the deadline to avert a shutdown is on October 1st, creating a scenario in which the government could be shut down a little over a month before the presidential election.