Speaker Johnson rolls back Trump voting rules in government funding bill | Wilnesh News

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday announced a new interim government funding proposal and made key changes to the original bill he introduced earlier this month, against the wishes of former President Donald Trump and Some concessions were made to Democrats.

The new bill will fund the government until December 20 but does not include any part savings billTrump-backed election security proposals would require people to show proof of citizenship to register as voters.

In a letter to colleagues on Sunday, Johnson said the “very narrow, simple” proposal would include “only extensions that are strictly necessary” to avoid a government shutdown.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats have eight days to reach an agreement on government funding. If a solution cannot be reached, the government will partially shut down at 12:01 p.m. ET on October 1, just over a month before the November election, when party control will be up for grabs in the White House and Congress.

“While this is not a solution any of us would like, it is the most prudent path forward in the current circumstances,” Johnson wrote in the letter. “History has told us, and current polls confirm this, that in Shutting down the government less than 40 days before a major election would be an act of political malfeasance.”

The new bill could be introduced in the House by Wednesday, according to House Republican aides.

The three-month spending plan also includes $231 million for the Secret Service to respond to pressure for more resources after another apparent assassination attempt on Trump last Sunday.

Previous versions of Johnson’s bill would have funded the government through March 2025, meaning funding levels had already been determined by the newly elected president and Congress. It also comes with the SAVE Act.

Trump prefers iterations of spending resolutions. he wrote in truth society Earlier this month, Republicans said they should not hesitate to shut down the government if they “cannot obtain absolute guarantees of election security.”

But the six-month temporary appropriations bill combined with the SAVES Act has struggled to be implemented by the House Republican caucus. Some Republican members oppose the idea of ​​any temporary funding for the government. Others disputed the specific funding allocation, which would have been pegged at six months if the bill passed.

With Johnson holding a slim majority in the House, he could only lose four Republican votes to pass the bill in his own chamber.

“As we are a little further from the target line, an alternative plan is now needed,” Johnson wrote in a letter to colleagues on Sunday.

Democrats also pledged to vote against the six-month bill as well as the SAVE Act. That means the proposal would be defeated when it reaches the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.

Johnson’s new funding proposal reflects a key compromise with Democrats by ditching the SAVES bill and introducing a three-month bill.

President Joe Biden and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer both have advocated For short-term proposals without accompanying bills, the newly elected governing body may start with a blank slate in January.

Schumer welcomed the change in House speaker.

“We do have some good news right now,” Schumer said at a news conference on Sunday, noting that the government shutdown may have been avoidable.

“Now that the ‘Make Republicans Great Again’ bill has failed, it’s clear that only a bipartisan budget bill can keep the government open,” he added. “MAGA This fiery red knot tied to the Republican Party has been untied ”

Johnson’s concession to Democrats could affect his tenure as speaker. His predecessor, former Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, became the first House speaker to be fired after striking a deal with Democrats to avert a government shutdown in October 2023.