GOP in-fighting breaks out as Republicans threaten to tank Mike Johnson's spending plan
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had a big plan to pass a spending bill that included a massive GOP priority: a provision gutting the National Voter Registration Act by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. It was never going to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, but he wanted to push it through anyway as a show of unity by the GOP House majority.
But instead, it's blowing up in his face, reported Politico, as faction-fighting among House Republicans could prevent him from even passing the bill there — and all of this comes as a potential government shutdown looms at the end of the month if no bill is passed.
On one hand, reported Jordan Cairney and Olivia Beavers, "there are conservatives who oppose short-term spending bills on principle and are unconvinced by the citizenship add on" — with even some anti-immigrant hardliners like Reps. Eli Crane (R-AZ) and Wesley Hunt (R-TX) undecided whether the citizenship provision is worth passing a short-term spending bill. Meanwhile, "some defense-hawks are worried the six-month stopgap bill would have a negative impact on the Pentagon, after defense officials said as much over the weekend."
So far, according to the report, at least six Republicans have said they won't back Johnson's proposal, greater than the four-vote cushion he has. The odds of any Democrats signing on to give him the votes are essentially nonexistent.
All this comes after prior reports suggesting that Johnson's speakership, which began after former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from that role by a far-right rebellion and the GOP spent weeks in chaos, could be on the line itself. Johnson's options are to either hold course and risk a shutdown that would damage his party, or abandon the GOP messaging bill and try to cut a bipartisan deal with Democrats, either of which could cause another motion to oust him.
Johnson faced a similar threat earlier this year, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) led a motion against his speakership. On that occasion, Democrats crossed the aisle to keep him in office, in return for his prior work with them to avert other shutdowns.