House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was forced Wednesday to delay a vote on a must-pass spending bill after hardliners within his own caucus signaled they were fully prepared to torpedo it.
As reported by CNN's Manu Raju, Johnson pulled it due to "backlash from right over the short-term bill" that also includes new voting restrictions that mandate voters show proof of citizenship before being allowed to register.
Without passage of a spending bill, the government would shut down on Oct. 1.
Although the proof-of-citizenship requirement has the enthusiastic backing of former President Donald Trump, it still is not enough for some House Republicans to get on board with passing a bill that will maintain current government funding levels, Raju reported.
“No vote today,” Johnson told reporters, according to CNN's Haley Talbot. “We are having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican conference and I believe we will get there."
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But as Raju noted, the intransigence of the GOP hardliners makes it difficult to see how Johnson gets out of this jam without a government shutdown at the end of the month.
"Unclear how Johnson proceeds especially amid Trump demands," Raju writes. "Will he cut a deal with Dems and anger the right and potentially Trump? Or will he push a Trump-backed bill that Dems will oppose? 11 [legislative] days until a govt shutdown."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who tried to get Johnson ousted as speaker earlier this year, has already signaled that she will not vote for the package, and there are more than enough Republicans who agree with her to make the bill dead on arrival were it to get a vote today, according to reports.
