The House Rules Committee opted Monday not to vote on a short-term spending bill that would avert a government shutdown, setting the stage for a scenario in which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will have to rely on Democrats to pass the controversial measure.
Johnson’s three-month resolution, which would keep the government funded through Dec. 20, was expected to be among a list of bills approved by the GOP-controlled Rules Committee late Monday, but it was not brought up for consideration after several Republicans voiced opposition to the measure.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a member of the Rules Committee, argued that the House speaker was trying to “create a government funding crisis the week before Christmas” to pressure lawmakers to vote for a bill that would be drafted “behind closed doors.”
“Why Christmas? So he can pressure members of Congress to vote for a bill they haven’t read, using their desire to see their family on Christmas Eve against them,” the Kentucky Republican wrote on X.
“We should fund the whole thing for a year,” Massie said of his preferred route.
Without a rule, House Republican leaders would have to submit the spending bill for consideration under a procedure known as a suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the plan is to bring the continuing resolution, or CR, to a vote on Wednesday, according to CBS News.
The Republican caucus has a slim majority in the House, meaning several Democrats will need to support the three-month CR for it to pass.
Johnson, 52, unveiled his Plan B spending plan on Sunday after the House rejected his first proposal — which tied a six-month CR to a measure requiring voters to show proof of citizenship to cast ballots.
“While this is not our preferred course, it is the most prudent course in the current circumstances,” Johnson wrote in a letter to his colleagues. “As history has taught and current polls confirm, shutting down the government less than 40 days before a fateful election would be an act of political malfeasance.”
Fourteen House Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in rejecting the original bill last Wednesday, which would have faced stiff opposition in the Senate if it had passed.
