Lawmakers rejected House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) proposed continuing resolution that would extend current government spending levels into late March, leaving it for the next Congress and White House administration to negotiate. As an incentive, Johnson sought to appease hardline conservatives who are generally against continuing resolutions of any length by attaching the GOP-led SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

However, that effort failed in a 202-220 vote as 14 Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in rejecting the spending package, falling short of the majority needed to advance the lower chamber.

Johnson knew the bill was likely to fail well before it came to the floor as several of his GOP colleagues publicly opposed the package and he was forced to pull the vote last week. Because of his slim majority, Johnson can only afford to lose four GOP votes on any given piece of legislation — a margin that was far surpassed on the floor on Wednesday. 

However, the speaker was adamant to hold a vote, calling it crucial to tackle election integrity concerns ahead of the November contest. Johnson also framed it as a way to put Democrats on the record after nearly House Democrats voted against the SAVE Act when it passed the House earlier this year. 

“We’re going to give them another chance. We’re going to let them try to vote with us,” Johnson said ahead of the vote on Wednesday. 

But Democrats have slammed the proposal as “unserious and unacceptable,” accusing Republicans of holding the government hostage to advance their own agenda. 

“In order to avert a GOP-driven government shutdown that will hurt everyday Americans, Congress must pass a short-term continuing resolution that will permit us to complete the appropriations process during this calendar year and is free of partisan policy changes inspired by Trump’s Project 2025,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a statement earlier this month. “There is no other viable path forward that protects the health, safety and economic well-being of hardworking American taxpayers.”

It’s not clear how congressional leaders will move forward with finalizing a spending deal, and lawmakers only have until midnight on Oct. 1 to pass some sort of agreement to avoid a shutdown. Making things more complicated, Johnson has refused to communicate any sort of backup plan. 

“No Plan B,” said Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), a top appropriator in the House, after emerging from a closed-door meeting with the speaker on Tuesday. “The speaker has elected to call the play. He’s calling the play and I’m supporting his play there. He’s been very clear: There’s no Plan B. This is what he’s trying to get done.”

That could place the power in the Senate’s hands, which could move forward with its own clean CR extending funding into mid-December. That could anger some hardline conservatives in the House, while other GOP lawmakers have acknowledged a short-term CR may be the only way to avoid a shutdown. 

“Plan B is always the only plan,” one House Republican told the Washington Examiner. 

But it also remains unclear whether Johnson will allow a shutdown to take effect if the SAVE Act isn’t attached to the final deal — something former President Donald Trump has pushed for.

“President Trump and I have talked a lot about this. We talked a lot about it with our colleagues who are building consensus on the plan,” Johnson said.

Trump reiterated his calls for a shutdown just hours before the vote, telling Republicans not to agree to a continuing resolution unless it has “every ounce of” the SAVE Act included. The former president urged lawmakers to ensure the election integrity bill is passed before November, claiming “Democrats are registering Illegal Voters by the TENS OF THOUSANDS as we speak.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“A Vote must happen BEFORE the Election, not AFTER the Election when it’s too late,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “BE SMART, REPUBLICANS, YOU’VE BEEN PUSHED AROUND LONG ENOUGH BY THE DEMOCRATS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN.”

Congress has until the end of September to pass its annual budget before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. If not, the government will enter a shutdown until some sort of spending deal has passed — a fate some House Republicans are looking to avoid ahead of the November elections, warning it could cost them their majority.