Washington
CNN
—
The House of Representatives failed Wednesday to pass a six-month Republican government funding plan that included a controversial measure targeting noncitizen voting, an effort pushed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The bill’s rejection highlights Republican divisions, but it also gives House Speaker Mike Johnson an opportunity to look to a Plan B as the shutdown looms. The House speaker has yet to say what his next steps will be, however. Funding for the government expires at the end of the month. The House vote was 202-220, with 14 Republicans voting against, two Republicans voting in favor and three Democrats voting in favor.
A “clean” funding extension without the voting provisions attached to it is widely seen on Capitol Hill as the only viable option to avoid a shutdown. But Trump is stepping up pressure for a shutdown if Republicans fail to pass the voting measure, which is considered a non-project in the Democratic-led Senate.
“If Republicans don’t understand the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not accept a continuing resolution in any way,” Trump said on Truth Social earlier Wednesday ahead of the vote.
Johnson canceled a vote on government funding legislation last week after enough House Republicans spoke out against the spending plan to defeat it, but he has been under pressure to take action on election security as Trump continues to sow doubt about the integrity of the election heading into November.
Johnson would not reveal Wednesday before the scheduled vote what he would do if the GOP’s government funding plan fails and said he had talked to Trump “a lot” about government funding after the former president raised the possibility of a government shutdown.
Trump had previously said that if Republicans did not receive “absolute assurances” that the election was secure, they should not vote to extend funding.
Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju whether he would listen to Trump, Johnson said: “President Trump and I have talked a lot about this. We’ve talked a lot about it with our colleagues who are building consensus on the plan.”
“We all believe that election security is of paramount importance right now,” Johnson said.
“We do the right thing on a daily basis and of course we have a big playbook with all kinds of ideas. But when you’re on the field and you call a play, you execute it,” he said.
House Republicans’ six-month funding plan would have extended government funding through March 2025. The proposal includes the SAVE Act, a GOP-led bill that passed the House on its own in July and would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, despite the fact that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.
Many Republicans warn that Congress must avoid a shutdown before the election.
“We’re going to vote, see what happens, and at the end of the day, if the vote fails, the speaker of the House will obviously have to reassess the situation. But the fact is, there’s not going to be a shutdown,” Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, told Raju. “We’re 47 days away from an election. There’s not going to be a shutdown.”
Senate Republican leader John Thune said when asked about his reaction to Trump’s statement and whether he was concerned it could lead to a shutdown: “We’ll see how it plays out. It’s all speculation. Let’s see what the House does today. But the one thing I can tell you is I don’t think it’s in anybody’s political interest, you know, this far out from the election, to have a government shutdown.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday of the House speaker’s plan to hold a vote on the GOP’s defunding proposal: “The only thing it will do is send a message to him that he’s at an impasse. We need to have a bipartisan plan instead.”
After Sunday’s assassination attempt at Trump’s Florida golf course, lawmakers are questioning whether the Secret Service is underfunded or simply mismanaged, and many are wondering what meaningful security improvements can be made as the presidential election approaches. Under the organization’s watch, two apparent assassination attempts were made against the former president about 60 days apart.
Schumer said Tuesday he is open to including more money for the Secret Service in this month’s funding package if they need it.
“Look, if the Secret Service feels they need more money, I would be very open to giving them that additional money in this bill or the next one, however quickly we can get there and get a bipartisan agreement,” Schumer said.
Separately, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters Tuesday that they are making some “minor” changes to a bill that would require both presidential candidates — Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris — to receive the same level of Secret Service protection as President Joe Biden, and that they aim to introduce it this week.
“I hope the presidential protection bill is very bipartisan. … We’re working to get it passed,” Scalise told reporters. “There are some minor changes that are being made to fix some issues, and then the goal is to get it passed this week.”
This story and title have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Ted Barrett, Danya Gainor, Annie Grayer and Michelle Shen contributed to this report.
