What took place in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night was a show vote of a different kind.
The vote made clear that Republicans oppose a combination bill that would avert a government shutdown and require proof of citizenship to vote, known as the “SAVE Act.”
“You have to be accountable for your vote,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has proposed a two-step strategy to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana. “I have no problem with my vote or what I stand for or what I’m trying to accomplish for the American people.”
The vote also demonstrated that Republicans cannot move something like a spending bill forward on their own. The vote demonstrated long-standing divisions in the House Republican Conference. Some Republicans voted against it for a variety of reasons. Some opposed stopgap spending bills, known as “continuing resolutions” or “CRs,” in the first place. Others opposed attaching a citizenship/voting requirement to such a bill. Some believed there was no way to implement a citizenship requirement to vote before an election.
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It’s a math problem, and the vote tally revealed that Johnson had very little to show for his work.
Johnson’s plan was defeated 220-202. Fourteen Republicans voted against it. Two Republicans abstained, and two Democrats voted in favor.
And the vote showed that the only way to avoid a government shutdown on October 1 is for Republicans to work with Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is preparing a stopgap spending bill that has bipartisan support. The Senate will likely adopt the bill and present a proposal to the House to accept or reject.
Wednesday night’s vote also signaled former President Trump’s intention to force a government shutdown. Trump posted on Truth Social: “If Republicans can’t figure out the SAVE Act and all that, they should not agree to a continuing resolution in any form.” Trump accused Democrats of “registering tens of thousands of illegal voters.” He also warned that Republicans have “been played by the Democrats for long enough.”
Rep. Corey Mills, R-Fla., wants to cut spending, but this bill doesn’t accomplish that, instead extending existing funding until late March. Mills also questioned whether it would be feasible to put the citizenship provisions into effect before November 5. I asked Mills if Johnson made a “mistake” in forcing this vote.
“I think so. I think what we need to do now is watch as these policy riders, these attempts to so-called ‘obstruct the Senate,’ continue to fail,” Mills said. “I’m disappointed in how the 118th Congress has handled this entire session.”
Although Roy supported the chairman’s strategy, he was in a less favorable position than Mills.
“We will end up with CR continuing till December because some people have tried to force this through, they have spoken on Twitter, they have descended on the floor and puffed themselves up that they have somehow found the magic solution, but they have literally not proposed any solution,” Roy said.
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This was another kind of “show” vote for Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was one of two Republicans who voted “no” on the bill. To Greene, the vote was indicative of what Johnson might do next, even though Johnson knew pretty well the bill would fall apart. Greene opposes Johnson’s next move to enlist Democratic support to avert a government shutdown.
“I think a lot of us expected him to do that all along. You set expectations based on how he’s behaved in the past, and that’s what he’s been behaving in the past,” Green said.
Green knows what he’s talking about.
Congress has voted on six omnibus, or “omnibus,” spending bills since Sept. 30 of last year, most of them under Johnson’s auspices. That’s why some, like Greene, are so unimpressed with Johnson — the same strategy that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, implemented last year.
Perhaps his vote to avert a government shutdown last fall was the ultimate show vote: Shortly after the count, House Republicans “ousted” McCarthy.
Republican Sen. Warren Davidson of Ohio has criticized Johnson’s chairmanship. But he called Johnson’s decision to force the vote on the CR “wise.” He lamented, however, that Republicans were not willing to go all out on the issue. He suggested that other senators were involved in “signaling” their position on the issue.
“I’m disappointed that there are what I informally call the surrender faction — I haven’t officially decided who that is — but it’s a bunch of bedwetters who won’t fight for anything and a bunch of purists who won’t fight for anything unless it’s perfect,” Davidson said. “In the end, we’re going to continue to make deals with Democrats and everything Congress funds will be tilted left. I think we’re going to surrender again now with empty promises to fight later.”
“This is a complete failure of the speaker’s strategy. Again, we weren’t here all of August. We could have gotten 12 separate budget bills done,” Greene said.
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But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Johnson’s actions since last fall suggest something: As Green noted, Cole looked at Johnson’s past record, and that record shows he has no interest in shutting down the government.
“If he wanted to shut down the government, he’s had multiple opportunities to do so since he became speaker. He’s never allowed it, and I don’t think he ever will,” Cole said.
“We ran the play. It was the best play. It was the right play. So now we’re going to go back to the playbook, drop another play and find a solution,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s vote was defeated.
So it’s a stalemate. But Johnson has to show he has a really good new strategy. But if his members didn’t bite on the first one, why is the second going to be any better? There’s an initial phase of short-term legislation that will last until mid-December.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the other Republican who voted “yes” on Johnson’s original bill, which he believed from the start was a “sham vote.”
“It was a fake bar fight with balsa wood chairs and sugar bottles,” Massey said. “I was at the bar watching both sides act.”
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At some point next week, the Senate will skip the congressional process for a stopgap spending bill that would last into late fall or early winter, ignoring provisions about voting requirements along the way. The Senate will likely signal to the House that it can pass a spending bill despite concerns from some Republicans. The House will then decide whether to approve the bill or shut down the government just before the election.
This will likely be the last vote in Congress before the election, a shutdown is averted, and the House of Representatives is unlikely to accomplish much, despite all the political maneuvering.