House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new plan for a three-month spending bill following the failure of his initial effort last week.
Johnson’s first continuing resolution (CR) — which included the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act — aimed to fund the government through March of next year. However, the measure failed after fourteen Republicans voted against it.
On Sunday, Johnson outlined a new “path forward for government funding” to prevent a shutdown on Oct. 1.
“Since we fell a bit short of the goal line, an alternative plan is now required,” he wrote in a letter to his GOP colleagues. “The feedback and ideas from everyone have been very helpful, and next week the House will take the initiative and pass a clean, three-month CR to prevent the Senate from jamming us with a bill loaded with billions in new spending and unrelated provisions.”
He added: “Our legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR including only the extensions that are absolutely necessary.”
Johnson acknowledged that the new plan is not his preference, although it represents “the most prudent path forward.”
“As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice,” he said, citing a McLaughlin & Associates survey that indicates two-thirds of likely voters oppose a government shutdown.
“The new bill would keep the government funded until Dec. 20, punting longer term spending decisions until after the Nov. 5 election,” Axios reports. “In addition to keeping the government funded at current levels, it would replenish funds for FEMA and add monies for the Secret Service — under the condition it cooperates with a congressional task force investigating the assassination attempts against Trump.”
The new legislation will also include about $230 million in funds for Secret Service protection after the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. This move follows last week’s unanimous decision by Congress to bolster Trump’s security.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was critical of Johnson’s announcement on Sunday, alleging that the House Speaker had wasted “precious time.”
"While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago," Schumer said, per CBS News. "The government will run out of funding just over a week from today. Time is of the essence, and I hope Speaker Johnson and House Republicans will not waste any more time."
It remains to be seen whether the sixteen Republicans — including Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), who voted present — that refused to support the previous CR will support the 3-month spending plan.
During a Sept. 9 U.S. House Committee on Rules meeting, Massie called Johnson’s efforts “political theater.”
“We all know where it ends up. We've seen it. I've been here 12 years, I've seen it 12 times," he said. "I refuse to be a thespian in this failure theater.”
Massie compared Congress’ efforts to Groundhog Day.
“It's good theater,” he said. “We've got great writers. I wish they’d just come up with a new plot. It's the same plot every fiscal year.”