House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), lacking the support of key Republicans, has decided to withdraw a stopgap continuing resolution today that proposes to avert a partial government shutdown for the next six months beyond the looming Sept. 30 deadline and would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.
The speaker told reporters that the CR and the attached voting security bill would be pulled from the House floor schedule today to give the GOP time to “build consensus” over the weekend, according to a transcript provided by Johnson’s office.
“Nope, no vote today because we're in the consensus-building business here in Congress with small majorities,” he said. “That's what you do. That's what I've been doing since I became speaker. We're having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican conference, and I believe we'll get there. So, people have concerns about all sorts of things. That's how the process works, and sometimes it takes a little more time.”
Several Republicans, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), said earlier this week that they did not support Johnson’s six-month CR proposal because it would hurt the Defense Department. Under the CR, DOD’s budget would be frozen at the level Congress enacted in fiscal year 2024 and it would be prohibited from spending on new modernization programs or increasing weapons production.
House Democrats also oppose the CR and the voting bill, leaving Johnson with a thin margin of error on the vote.
Meanwhile, the Democrat-controlled Senate is demanding a “clean” CR free of the voting security bill Johnson has attached to it. The White House has also said that President Biden intends to veto Johnson’s CR proposal if it were to somehow arrive at his desk.
Johnson, however, said he would continue to work to pass both bills.
“Congress has a lot of responsibilities, but two primary obligations responsibly fund the government and make sure that our elections are free and fair and secure,” he said. “And that's what we're working on. And we'll continue and we'll keep you posted.”
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Congress detailing the ways in which the six-month CR would harm military readiness and weapons modernization.
“A six-month CR would set us significantly behind in meeting our pacing challenge highlighted in our National Defense Strategy -- the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” he wrote. “The PRC does not operate under CRs. Our ability to execute our strategy is contingent upon our ability to innovate and modernize to meet this challenge, which cannot happen under a CR.”