Johnson struggles to make spending play before clock runs out

Conservatives in the House of Representatives already have a strong distaste for short-term government funding extensions because they circumvent the established process of passing 12 appropriations bills to fund federal spending. Republicans like Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia expected not to love the long-awaited stop-gap spending bill that House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled on Tuesday.

But they didn’t expect to hate it, either.

“We talk about cutting debt and then every CR gets bigger,” McCormick said, referencing the continuing resolution that Johnson proposed. “Something’s got to give. There’s always an emergency—we always have to spend more. That’s why it’s baffling to many of us. There’s a lot of concern that we’re not taking this seriously.”

What was supposed to be a simple, three-month extension of the government’s current spending levels ballooned far beyond what Republicans had envisioned—so much so that Johnson’s deal was already dead by Thursday morning. Many conservatives would rather see a government shutdown.

With funding set to run out Friday, the continuing resolution would have kept the government open through March, provided a one-year lifeline to a number of food-related programs in danger of expiration, allocated close to $100 billion in disaster relief funding, and more. The package also included myriad miscellaneous components that didn’t fall neatly under any umbrella but would have ensured the support of the White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The bill, for instance, included a 72-page section titled, “Pandemic and all hazards preparedness and response.” There was also $8 billion in funding for the damaged Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore that collapsed in March.

Its provisions easily added $300 billion to the federal deficit.

“Everyone is packing in what they want and using the pressure and the situation of the government shutdown,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

Republicans passed their last government funding extension back in September. If they do not approve a new plan by midnight Friday, a partial government shutdown will kick in.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told WORLD on Wednesday morning he’s fine with that outcome.

“Absolutely,” Norman said when asked if he would be willing to undergo a three-week shutdown until Republicans can pass a more conservative bill when they take control of the Senate and White House in January. “My word to my fellow congressmen: Don’t pass it.”

Norman is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the most conservative coalition of House Republicans. He also sits on the powerful Rules Committee, the body that decides which legislation makes it to the House floor.

Some Republicans believe a shutdown would be a serious mistake. Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, expressed concern about stopping payments to servicemembers right before Christmas.

“If you want to stop paying our military deployed overseas defending us against the Houthis, the Iranians, a potential war in China, and the North Koreans—that’s going to be real payback for that. You just don’t do that,” Ellzey said. “I’ll be voting ‘yes.’”

While the speaker hasn’t announced his decision, members leaving his office on Thursday morning hinted that he might scrap his plan in favor of a simpler bill. Such a package would likely deal with the government extension, extend the farm bill, and lift the debt ceiling—something President-elect Donald Trump requested on Wednesday. But it’s unclear whether such a proposal would have support from the Senate or President Joe Biden.

“There’s a lot of moving parts, but the ultimate goal is to get a bill that addresses our immediate needs,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, said on Thursday morning.

Democrats for their part are accusing Republicans of abandoning bipartisan negotiations. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., blasted Republicans on Wednesday evening for abandoning weeks of negotiations on the eve of a government shutdown.

“You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow,” Jeffries said at a news conference on Wednesday evening.