Speaker Nixes Vote On Spending And Non-Citizen Voting Crackdown, Aims To ‘Build Consensus’ Amid Opposition

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) backed off plans for a vote Wednesday on a short-term spending measure combined with reforms meant to help ensure non-citizens are not voting in federal elections, but he committed to “consensus building” in the GOP-led House through the weekend.

Leading congressional Democrats, the White House, and even some Republicans have voiced opposition to the proposal, which would provide funding for the federal government for six months — through March 28 — in addition to instituting the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. A government shutdown could happen next month if a deal to fund the various federal agencies is not reached by the end of September, as lawmakers have been unable to pass a full slate of appropriations bills to cover the entire 2025 fiscal year. Still, Johnson voiced confidence in charting the course ahead.

“No vote today, because we’re in the consensus building business here in Congress with small majorities,” Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. “That’s what you do. That’s what I’ve been doing since I became speaker. We’re having thoughtful conversations — family conversations within the Republican conference, and I believe we’ll get there. So people have concerns about all sorts of things. That’s how the process works, and sometimes it takes a little more time.”

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The SAVE Act, which passed the House in July with some bipartisan support but never got taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate, aims to require that individuals show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in elections for federal office and pushes states to remove non-citizens from voter rolls. Critics argue the bill is unnecessary and would create an undue burden on legitimate voters, but a report from Johnson warned of a National Voter Registration Act “loophole” in which states do not ask for proof of citizenship when registering an individual to vote in federal elections and cited evidence of non-citizens appearing on voter rolls in places such as Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia.

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Several Republicans in the House have signaled dismay with the GOP plan, with some being turned off by the idea of stop-gap spending bill, defense hawks fretting a “negative impact” on the Pentagon, and others not liking the idea of the SAVE Act being included, according to POLITICO. A shorter continuing resolution without the SAVE Act might have better odds. Axios reported Democrats and the White House prefer a three-month spending measure, which would lead to a December lame-duck session on government funding. President Joe Biden has threatened to veto the House GOP’s combination proposal, while former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to allow a shutdown to happen if they cannot secure a short-term spending measure in addition to “election security” reforms he has long demanded.

Johnson said on Wednesday the “American people demand and deserve that we do everything possible to secure the elections … That’s what I’ve heard from the people across the country in 198 cities across 39 states. It’s consistent from coast to coast, north to south. We’re going to continue to work on this. The whip is going to do the hard work to build consensus. We’re going to work through the weekend on that. And I want any member of Congress in either party to explain to the American people why we should not ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in U.S. elections. We’re going to work on that issue around the clock, because we have an obligation to the people to do it, and that’s what the fight is. That’s what’s important. It’s the most pressing issue right now, and we’re going to get this job done.”