House speaker wants to fund government in 2 parts to avoid shutdown

Congress has until Friday, Nov. 17, to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown. To do that, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., proposed a “laddered continuing resolution” that would fund the government in two separate parts.

Here’s how it would work:

• Money for veterans programs, transportation, housing, agriculture and energy would flow through Jan. 19.
• Funding for the military, State Department, Homeland Security and other government agencies would last until Feb. 2.
  

Normally, continuing resolutions fund the entire federal government in one group with one expiration date, but Johnson wants to try something different.

“This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement. “The bill will stop the absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills introduced right before the Christmas recess.”

Johnson is getting pushback from all sides.

House conservatives, like Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, are disappointed that the proposal doesn’t reduce spending.

My opposition to the clean CR just announced by the Speaker to the @HouseGOP cannot be overstated. Funding Pelosi level spending & policies for 75 days – for future “promises.”

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) November 11, 2023

“My opposition to the clean CR just announced by the Speaker to the @HouseGOP cannot be overstated,” Roy posted on X. “Funding Pelosi level spending & policies for 75 days – for future “promises.”

The White House called the proposal “unserious.”

“This proposal is just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“This proposal doesn’t include emergency supplemental funding for Border Patrol and other operators who are working tirelessly to secure the border,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who represents a border community.

Despite the pushback, everyone expressed an openness to get something done.

“There’s no choice here,” House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas told “Face the Nation.” “I mean, the world is on fire from where I sit. It is too urgent. We can’t sit back and do nothing.”

It won’t be easy for Johnson to convince holdouts.

When the House passed the continuing resolution that’s currently funding the government on Sept. 30, Johnson was one of 90 Republicans who voted against it.