House conservatives are urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to make last-minute changes to a stopgap funding measure, seeking to attach Republicans’ border security bill to the final text.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus met with Johnson on Thursday, just hours before the lower chamber is set to vote on a continuing resolution that would avoid a partial government shutdown over the weekend. Conservatives pressed Johnson to amend the resolution text to include House Republicans’ signature border bill, H.R. 2, in the final version of the funding extension — a request they said the speaker is “considering.”
“[Rep. Andy] Harris and I just went and spoke with the speaker about an opportunity to add border security to the continuing resolution for the four bills that would be impacted by this continuing resolution, and we believe that’s a win for the country,” Good told reporters. “It’s a win for the American people, it secures the border, and it uses the funding mechanisms as an opportunity to do that. And it keeps the government open.”
But doing so could complicate lawmakers’ timeline for averting a government shutdown, which is scheduled to take effect at 11:59 p.m. on Friday. The Senate is set to vote on the continuing resolution on Thursday afternoon before sending the legislation to the House without border policy changes.
If Johnson agrees to include conservatives’ proposal — which would attach H.R. 2 to the continuing resolution, minus changes to E-verify — the bill’s passage would be delayed and likely result in a short-term shutdown. A proposed amendment would first need to go through the Rules Committee, which would then be brought to the floor for a vote.
Once that passes, the full CR would be voted on by the House with the inclusion of the amendment. The CR would then be sent back to the Democratic-led Senate, which is unlikely to accept those changes — putting the two chambers at an impasse.
But conservatives justified their request by pointing to 14 Democrats who joined Republicans in supporting a resolution denouncing the Biden administration’s border policies, arguing there is enough support in both parties to attach border reforms.
Conservatives said Johnson is reviewing his options on a path forward.
Further complicating the timeline, House leaders announced they would cancel votes on Friday due to inclement weather. The Senate is also expected to leave town after concluding votes on Thursday.
“He’s working through the mechanics to make sure that we have the best path forward on how to do it,” Good said.
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Senate and House leaders unveiled their proposal for a stopgap measure on Sunday, pushing the spending deadlines of Friday and Feb. 2 to March 1 and March 8, respectively. The new agreement would give lawmakers six weeks to finalize their must-pass spending legislation and fund the government for fiscal 2024.
The agreement has received staunch opposition from some House conservatives, prompting Johnson to plan on bringing the CR to the floor on suspension of the rules — meaning it will require a two-thirds majority to pass. House Democrats have already come out in support of the bipartisan agreement, likely providing enough votes for the measure to succeed.