House poised to pass bill to prevent government shutdown after Trump withdraws voting plan

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives is poised to pass a funding bill Wednesday to avert a government shutdown next week after withdrawing a proposal pushed by Donald Trump that would have required Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.

House Republican leaders, facing a backlash from defections in their ranks, plan to rely mostly on Democratic votes to approve the measure. If it passes, it would head to the Senate, which hopes to approve it quickly Wednesday evening, well before the Oct. 1 closing date. Both chambers are scheduled to adjourn this week for a long recess leading up to the Nov. 5 election.

The package, negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and top Democrats, would fund the government at current levels through Dec. 20, just before the holidays. It would also provide $231 million in additional money for the Secret Service, including for campaign operations, in the wake of two apparent assassination attempts on Trump.

Trump has publicly urged Republican lawmakers to shut down the government unless they can pass a citizenship-proof voting law, known as the SAVE Act, even though it is already illegal and it is rare for noncitizens to vote in federal elections.

But after the House rejected a package combining government funding and the SAVE Act last week, Johnson stripped out Trump-backed election legislation and introduced a new, mostly clean spending bill. Defending the move, Johnson and other key Republicans argued that a GOP shutdown of the government just 35 days before Election Day would amount to “political dishonesty.”

Johnson denied that he was “opposing Trump” on the voting bill, arguing that they had remained in close contact throughout the funding fight and that both believed the SAVE Act was critical to ensuring election integrity.

“I’m not opposed to President Trump. I’ve talked to him at length and he’s very frustrated with this situation. His concern is election security and mine. It’s all of our concerns,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday.

He blamed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for not taking up the SAVE Act as a standalone measure in the Senate. “We passed the SAVE Act over the summer, and it’s been sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk collecting dust ever since; it’s pissing us off,” Johnson said. “President Trump understands the dilemma that we’re in, so there’s no daylight between us.”

If the bill becomes law, it would mean another battle to shut down the government in a lame duck session after the election, but with the benefit of both parties knowing the balance of power next year.

“I think the vast, vast majority of Congress does not want a shutdown,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark. “So let’s get through the election and decide what we want to do.”

The short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, requires two-thirds support to pass because it goes to the floor under an expedited process known as a “suspension of the rules.” That’s necessary because conservatives on the Rules Committee aligned with Johnson have refused to help push the package through committee.

“It’s the same as putting it off until later,” lamented Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, who plans to vote no.

Instead of blaming Johnson, former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, blamed Senate Democrats for failing to pass any of 12 bills to fund the government for the new fiscal year.

“You always blame us for all this, but the Senate hasn’t put any appropriations bills on the floor. None,” Perry said. “You should have a dance partner, and our dance partner refuses to show up.”

Schumer said he was glad House Republicans realized that “partisan scare tactics” don’t work on funding — even though time was wasted.

“As both parties work to avoid a shutdown, we encourage House Republican leadership to move this bill forward and pass it quickly. Time is of the essence,” he said Tuesday. “Once the House takes action, the Senate will move quickly to pass the CR. I encourage my colleagues on both sides to make it a priority to pass the CR quickly. If we work together, avoid poison and partisanship, we can avoid a government shutdown.”