Speaker Mike Johnson proposes unusual plan to prevent a government shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled an unusual short-term spending plan Saturday that would stave off a Nov. 17 government shutdown — and give the fractious Republican caucus more time to negotiate their budget-cutting goals.
The bill, known as a continuing resolution, would fund uncontroversial portions of the federal government’s budget — such as the Food and Drug Administration and Veterans Affairs — at current levels through Jan. 19 of next year, while extending other programs’ spending through Feb. 2.
Johnson called the two-step structure “a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories.”
“The bill will stop the absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills introduced right before the Christmas recess,” he argued in a post on X.
But the measure contains no aid for Israel and no additional funds for Ukraine, which Johnson has insisted on debating separately.
The novel approach was designed to wean Congress off its longstanding pattern of passing bloated omnibus spending bills under the pressure of a looming federal shutdown — bills that allow for no debate of specific budget items.
Instead, fiscal conservatives want the House and Senate to separately negotiate and pass 12 regular funding bills, each covering a particular part of the federal government.
The House will vote on the bill Tuesday — three days before federal spending is set to grind to a halt at midnight Friday.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre panned Johnson’s plan as “unserious.”
“This proposal is just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns,” she complained.
