Mike Johnson tries to quell GOP rebellion over 'one sentence' in proposed funding bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is starting 2024 with an increasingly tenuous majority, and his troubles may only have just begun as infighting within his caucus threatens a government shutdown before the spring.

According to a Friday report in Politico, House Republicans are growing increasingly divided regarding the latest debate over funding for the Southern border. While Johnson faces a deadline of January 19 to fund several government agencies and military construction, a separate February 2 funding deadline looms for remaining federal agencies. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is reportedly seeking to insert a clause into a funding bill that would "suspend the processing and release of new migrants."

"We should put that one sentence into legislation," Jordan said. "I think it boils down to the will of Republicans in the United States Congress. Are we going to force that sentence, that solution, on a piece of legislation?"

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Should Republicans insist on putting that sentence into a border funding bill, such a proposal would be unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled US Senate, much less be signed into law by President Joe Biden. If Congress fails to reach a deal by February 2, it would trigger a shutdown, laying off hundreds of thousands of federal workers and hamstringing everything from mail delivery to food inspection.

Jordan's proposal is reminiscent of the 2018-2019 government shutdown over funding for then-President Donald Trump's proposed border wall, which paralyzed federal agencies for 34 days. That shutdown ultimately ended with Trump signing a bill to restore government funding without money for the wall (which Trump campaigned on making Mexico pay for).

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), who is chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, cautioned Republicans against taking a hardline approach to border funding, warning that it would be considered "dead on arrival" in her chamber.

"We have seen this failed playbook before, and here’s the bottom line: shutting the government down over extreme partisan policies ... doesn’t solve a single problem — instead, it forces the personnel at our southern border to work without pay and seriously undermines the very agencies responding to the uptick in new arrivals," Murray told Politico.

READ MORE: 'I will not help the Democrats': GOP rep says he'll torch border deal to deny Biden a win

Read Politico's full report by clicking here.