Washington:Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a stopgap funding bill on Wednesday to avert a potential government shutdown at the end of the month, amid divided opinions over a controversial voting measure included in the bill by former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that requires voters to provide proof of citizenship.
Despite Trump’s urging, House Republicans failed to muster enough votes to approve the package and send it to the Democratic-controlled Senate. With Democrats largely united in opposition, the bill failed by a vote of 202 to 220, with 14 Republicans voting against it and three Democrats in favor. House Speaker Mike Johnson postponed the vote and said he would craft a new, temporary funding bill.
“There is no vote today because we are in the business of building consensus here in Congress. With small majorities, that is what you do,” Johnson told reporters after his effort to introduce a funding bill was thwarted by both parties. “We are having thoughtful conversations, family conversations within the Republican conference and I think we will get it done.”
Why did both parties disagree on the bill?
Congress needs to pass a stopgap spending bill by Oct. 1 to avoid a federal shutdown just weeks before the November presidential election. The measure had been put to a vote Wednesday afternoon, but Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it and enough Republicans have voiced opposition to it to raise serious doubts about its passage.
House and Senate Democrats say they are eager to pass a stopgap spending bill to avoid a disruptive shutdown that would temporarily furlough hundreds of thousands of federal employees. But they opposed the version Johnson brought to a vote Wednesday because it was paired with an unrelated election bill that would require Americans to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from their registration rolls.
Trump has made illegal immigration a central issue in his re-election campaign and has falsely claimed that Democrats are registering illegal immigrants to vote, the latest in a long line of lies about voter fraud. But Johnson also has to contend with a contingent of Republicans who routinely vote against stopgap funding bills.
Republican opponents of the bill argue that it continues spending at levels they consider excessive. And some Republicans simply won’t vote for any resolution to keep it, arguing that Congress should go back to passing its 12 annual spending bills separately rather than through one or two omnibus bills that have become the norm in recent decades.
What will happen now?
President Johnson said he would move forward with crucial components of the bill. He has acknowledged concerns that some of the immigrants who have entered the country across the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years could tip the balance of elections, even though it is illegal for noncitizens to vote and research has shown that such voting is extremely rare.
Democrats are calling on Johnson to “stop wasting time” on a bill that won’t become law and to work with them on a short-term spending measure that has bipartisan support. At the end of the day, they say no spending bill can pass without bipartisan support and buy-in from a Democratic-led Senate and White House. Trump apparently encouraged a government shutdown if Republicans in the House and Senate “don’t get assurances on election security.”
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell disagreed when asked about Trump’s post. “Shutting down the government is always a bad idea, no matter what time of year it is,” McConnell said. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress faces an even more critical deadline on Jan. 1, when lawmakers will have to raise the country’s debt ceiling or risk defaulting on more than $35 trillion in federal government debt.
(with contributions from agencies)
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