{"id":2342642,"date":"2024-09-18T04:36:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T08:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/looming-shutdown-sets-up-next-big-leadership-test-for-johnson-and-fractured-gop-conference-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T04:38:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T08:38:17","slug":"looming-shutdown-sets-up-next-big-leadership-test-for-johnson-and-fractured-gop-conference-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/looming-shutdown-sets-up-next-big-leadership-test-for-johnson-and-fractured-gop-conference-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Looming shutdown sets up next big leadership test for Johnson and fractured GOP conference &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flooming-shutdown-sets-up-next-big-leadership-test-for-johnson-and-fractured-gop-conference-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2342642&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing a significant challenge as he\u2064 attempts to \u2063unite his Republican conference to pass a spending bill \u2062in light of an impending \u200bgovernment shutdown set to occur \u200bless than two weeks from now. Johnson plans \u2064to move forward with a continuing resolution (CR)\u200d that maintains\u200d current government spending levels through the end of March, alongside a controversial provision related to proof-of-citizenship in voting. However, he previously postponed bringing the bill\u200b to a vote due to insufficient support \u200dfrom within his party. <\/p>\n<p>Despite his determination to proceed without a\u2064 backup plan\u2014described\u2063 by Representative Mario\u200c Diaz-Balart (R-FL) as &#8220;no Plan B&#8221;\u2014a dozen lawmakers have expressed opposition to Johnson\u2019s proposal, making its \u2064passage\u200b uncertain \u200cgiven the need to avoid losing \u200cmore than \u200bfour Republican votes if\u2063 all Democrats oppose\u200c it. Johnson aims to sway dissenting members before the\u200b vote, although it remains uncertain whether these discussions have been \u200ceffective.<\/p>\n<p>Some GOP members are concerned \u200bthat if the bill fails in the House, it could lead to\u2063 a situation \u2062where the Senate passes \u200ca simple extension of \u200dfunding \u200dwithout any attached measures, something they \u2064perceive\u200d as ineffective. Critics, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA),\u2063 argue that Johnson&#8217;s approach lacks a strong resistance against Democratic\u2064 proposals and\u200d may \u200cultimately disadvantage Republicans in upcoming elections. <\/p>\n<p>The \u2062rift\u200c within\u2063 the GOP \u200creflects broader \u2062divisions on strategy, \u2064with some pushing \u2064for\u2062 a hardline approach to compel \u200bthe Senate to agree to the SAVE Act as a \u2062standalone bill. As pressure mounts, Johnson\u200b must navigate complex dynamics within his party while trying to avert a government shutdown that\u2062 could have \u200cpolitical repercussions for Republicans \u2064in the November elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Looming shutdown sets up next big leadership test for Johnson and fractured GOP conference<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1762927\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) must once again wrangle his conference to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3156651\/johnson-pushes-vote-stopgap-government-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>support some sort of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-push-for-taxpayer-funded-abortion-remove-historically-bipartisan-amendments\/\" title=\"Democrats Push For Taxpayer-Funded Abortion, Remove Historically Bipartisan Amendments\">spending legislation<\/a><\/a> or risk a lapse in federal funding just one month before the November election with less than two weeks until a scheduled government shutdown.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Johnson will move forward with putting his original continuing resolution up for a vote on Wednesday despite pulling the bill from consideration last week due to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3150854\/house-gop-scraps-vote-government-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>lack of support among his own party.<\/a> However, the speaker said he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3148725\/johnson-plows-ahead-doomed-stopgap-spending-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>would move forward anyway<\/a> &mdash; even without a backup plan if his proposal falls through.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No Plan B,&rdquo; said Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), a top appropriator in the House. &ldquo;The speaker has elected to call the play. He&rsquo;s calling the play and I&rsquo;m supporting his play there. He&rsquo;s been very clear: There&rsquo;s no Plan B. This is what he&rsquo;s trying to get done.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When asked if there have been talks about what happens if the CR-SAVE Act legislation fails in the House, Diaz Balart told the <em>Washington Examiner, <\/em>&ldquo;One step at a time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m confident the speaker is very clear of what his goal is he&rsquo;s trying to get this done,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At least a dozen lawmakers initially came out in opposition to Johnson&rsquo;s proposal, which seeks to extend current government spending levels until the end of March and attach a proof-of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-shutdown-feud-over-citizenship-voting-bill-tests-gop-leadership-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Government shutdown feud over citizenship voting bill tests GOP leadership - Washington Examiner\">-citizenship voting bill<\/a> as a GOP policy rider. That opposition makes the legislation likely dead on arrival, as Johnson can only afford to lose four Republican votes if there is full attendance and all Democrats vote against it.<\/p>\n<p>The House will now vote on the CR on Wednesday after spending the weekend talking with key holdouts in an effort to switch their votes. However, it&rsquo;s still unclear whether those discussions were enough to sway their opinions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Johnson has expressed some confidence privately that a few of those holdouts have come around, according to lawmakers who met with the speaker on Tuesday evening.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He felt really good about the direction it&rsquo;s going,&rdquo; Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, told reporters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But some key holdouts have already indicated they will still vote against the bill, a reality GOP leaders have acknowledged even as they plan to move forward with the legislation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of members that, for various reasons, want to have the vote whether it passes or fails,&rdquo; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said. &ldquo;Obviously, if it doesn&rsquo;t pass, then you got to move on to Plan B, which is &mdash; we&rsquo;ll work on that later.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Even if the continuing resolution did make it through the House, the provision attaching the SAVE Act has been deemed a nonstarter Democratic-led Senate. In fact, some Republicans predict sending Johnson&rsquo;s legislation to the Senate would only result in the return of a clean extension of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-house-democrats-budget-slashes-border-enforcement-funding-by-a-billion-dollars\/\" title=\"Report: House Democrats\u2019 Budget Slashes Border Enforcement Funding By A Billion Dollars\">funding levels<\/a> without any policy riders, condemning the effort as a waste of time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Johnson will NOT commit to standing up against the Democrats in a shutdown fight and will allow passage of a clean CR in order to fund the government because he believes a gov shutdown will be blamed on Republicans and will hurt their elections,&rdquo; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has rejected the CR proposal, said in a post on X. &ldquo;Johnson is leading a fake fight that he has no intention of actually fighting.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Some who are against Johnson&rsquo;s CR argue the only way to move forward is to refuse passage of any sort of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pathetic-only-6-gop-senators-voted-against-democrats-stimulus-bill\/\" title=\"PATHETIC: Only 6 GOP Senators Voted Against Democrats\u2019 Stimulus Bill\">government spending bill<\/a> until the Senate agrees to pass the SAVE Act as a standalone bill and President Joe Biden vows to sign it, something former President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Others have argued forcing a shutdown and dragging the spending fight into October over the SAVE Act would do little, noting it would be too late for the voting bill to make a difference in the November election.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I refuse to lie to anyone that this plan will work and it&rsquo;s already DOA this week,&rdquo; Greene wrote. &ldquo;Speaker Johnson needs to go to the Democrats, who he has worked with the entire time, to get the votes he needs to do what he is already planning to do.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The emerging divisions have caused a rift among the House GOP conference, as some Republicans accuse their colleagues of forfeiting their leverage in negotiations with the Senate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Want to avoid a lame-duck omnibus?&rdquo; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) posted on X. &ldquo;Pass a six-month CR with the SAVE Act attached.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nah, some Republican nihilists would rather set up the failure they then get to complain about.&nbsp;You and I will vote no on the inevitable CR that results just like they will &hellip; but they&rsquo;ll claim they saved us from &hellip; something&rdquo; Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) responded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Not only will Johnson need to wrangle his conference to get some sort of spending deal past the finish line, the speaker must also deal with those internal conflicts as a way to appear unified ahead of the November elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Since taking the majority in early 2023, House GOP leadership has struggled to pass its appropriations bills on time, with the budget for fiscal year 2024 not taking effect until six months past the deadline. That process was also fraught with chaos, resulting in the historic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and months of GOP infighting that led to four continuing resolutions to avoid a government shutdown.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So far, Johnson has not faced similar threats as no House Republican is calling for his removal from the top leadership position. Instead, some Republicans argue the negotiations are just a result of a divided government, noting that such decisions are not made easily.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yes, there&rsquo;s going to be people that don&rsquo;t vote for the final product. If they&rsquo;re unwilling to pass an initial offering towards a negotiation, then you move on without them. But you know, you have to be able to at least engage in discussion,&rdquo; said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). &ldquo;Nothing in this place happens just like that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1762927\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1762927\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a government shutdown approaches, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faces another significant leadership challenge in rallying his party to back spending legislation. With less than two weeks until the shutdown and just a month before the November elections, Johnson plans to bring his original continuing resolution (CR) to a vote on Wednesday, despite having previously withdrawn it due to insufficient support from within his own party. He has stated he will proceed without an alternative plan if this proposal fails. <\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), a key appropriator, emphasized that there is &#8220;No Plan B,&#8221; supporting Johnson&#8217;s decision to move forward with the vote. Although at least twelve lawmakers initially opposed the CR\u2014which aims to maintain current spending levels until March while including a proof-of-citizenship voting bill\u2014Johnson can only afford four dissenting votes if all Republicans are present and Democrats oppose it.<\/p>\n<p>The House will vote on the CR after weekend discussions aimed at persuading holdouts, but it&#8217;s uncertain whether these talks were effective. Some lawmakers believe that certain opponents may have shifted their stance positively after meeting with Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>However, several key dissenters have already indicated they will still reject the bill, which GOP leaders acknowledge as they continue with their plans. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) noted that many members want a vote regardless of its outcome and hinted at needing a backup plan if it fails.<\/p>\n<p>Even if the CR passes in the House, attaching provisions like the SAVE Act is unlikely to succeed in the Democratic-controlled Senate; some Republicans predict that sending this legislation there would lead only to an unadorned extension of funding levels.<\/p>\n<p>Critics of Johnson&#8217;s approach argue for withholding any government spending bills until there&#8217;s agreement on passing standalone legislation for SAVE Act\u2014a stance supported by former President Donald Trump\u2014and warn against forcing a shutdown over issues that won&#8217;t impact upcoming elections significantly.<\/p>\n<p>The divisions within GOP ranks have led some members to accuse others of undermining their negotiating power with Senate Democrats. As tensions rise among Republican factions regarding strategy and priorities ahead of November\u2019s elections, Speaker Johnson must navigate these internal conflicts while striving for unity within his conference.<\/p>\n<p>Since taking control earlier this year, GOP leadership has struggled with timely appropriations processes leading up to fiscal year 2024\u2014resulting in chaos marked by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy&#8217;s ousting and multiple continuing resolutions aimed at preventing government shutdowns.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, no calls for Johnson\u2019s removal from leadership exist; instead some Republicans attribute ongoing negotiations as typical outcomes of divided governance where consensus is hard-won through discussion rather than immediate agreement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2640,"featured_media":2342643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ap-mike-johnson-capitol-hill-091724.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[6203,4162,5191,5894,5123],"class_list":["post-2342642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-gop","tag-johnson","tag-leadership","tag-politics","tag-shutdown"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ap-mike-johnson-capitol-hill-091724.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2342642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2342642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2342642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2342642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}