Mike Johnson tries to 'quell an uprising' as House Republicans fight over spending bill

11 December 2024

The United States' federal government is once again facing the possibility of a shutdown. And House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), hoping to avoid one, is, according to NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman, planning to introduce "a three-month spending bill on the House floor next week."

But other House Republicans, Gorman reports, are questioning Johnson's "three-month approach."

One of them is Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who asked, "Why not do it ‘til the end of the year?"

Donald Trump ally Nehls, according to Gorman, wants the federal government funded longer than three months — as he doesn't want the president-elect to be distracted from his goals after his second presidency gets underway.

A nine-month funding bill, Nehls said, "gives Donald Trump an opportunity to then focus on the border, focus on all these issues, and then get appropriation bills for the following year."

Similarly, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee) told NOTUS, "I don't want to tie Trump's hands in the first 100 days, so that'll weigh greatly on my thought process."

Gorman explains, "It isn't difficult to find Republicans questioning the wisdom of, once again, delaying a final spending deal. Many lawmakers are dubious of setting up a deadline during the first weeks of Trump's presidency. Republicans told NOTUS it would distract the new president from enacting other parts of his agenda, and that Trump and the new Congress likely wouldn't get a more conservative spending deal just because there was a new president."

The NOTUS reporter points out that when a new Congress is seated in January, Johnson "will have to be reaffirmed as speaker."

"The last time he faced a vote on his speakership, Johnson survived because the vast majority of Democrats voted with Republicans to table a motion to vacate," Gorman notes. "Eleven Republicans voted to remove Johnson — more than enough if Democrats hadn't saved the speaker. This time, Johnson is unlikely to get Democratic help. And that has left him doing everything he can to quell an uprising."

A GOP lawmaker, interviewed on condition of anonymity, believes that a three-month spending bill would only benefit Johnson — and no one else.

The House Republican told NOTUS, "It's very clear this is to protect the speaker, to keep his seat, because of a promise he made to never pass an end-of-the-year package. That’s all and that's it.”

Read the full NOTUS article at this link.

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