Congress Passes Stop-Gap Spending Bill After Failed Mike Johnson Gambit

Congress on Wednesday passed legislation that would fund the government through nearly the end of December.

The House and the Senate passed a stop-gap spending bill that would push the government spending deadline to December 20. The measure, otherwise known as a continuing resolution (CR), keeps federal spending the same.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had sought to attach the SAVE Act to the spending bill, which if passed, would have required proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. After the gambit failed, Johnson chose to pass the stop-gap spending bill without it.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gloated about his apparent victory.

“I just locked in an agreement to pass the government funding bill tomorrow without amendments, avoiding an unnecessary government shutdown,” Schumer announced. “Families can rest assured that their lives won’t be needlessly upended due to an unnecessary shutdown.”

Breitbart News’s Bradley Jaye reported:

Johnson fought a three-month CR publicly – for a time. During the August recess, Johnson announced he would attach the SAVE Act – legislation authored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and supported by Donald Trump to limit voting by non-citizens – to a six-month continuing resolution (CR). If successful, the bill would have continued current spending levels – however loathsome to conservatives – into March, when hypothetical House and Senate majorities and a Trump administration would be in the driver’s seat.

But Johnson’s August announcement caught members off guard. And many members of in disparate philosophical corners of his own party did not appreciate being told by Johnson to fall in line for a bill many believed Johnson to be unserious about passing.

“The Speaker is using the CR to set up a government funding crisis the week before Christmas,” Rep. Thomas Massie wrote on Tuesday.

“Why Christmas? So he can pressure Members to vote for a bill they haven’t read, by using their desire to see their families on Christmas Eve against them.”

The spending bill will go to President Joe Biden to sign.

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.