The House failed on Wednesday to pass a six-month GOP government funding plan that included a controversial measure targeting noncitizen voting, an effort pushed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The defeat of the bill puts Republican divisions on full display, but it also creates an opportunity for Speaker Mike Johnson to pivot to a Plan B as a shutdown looms, though the speaker has not yet said what his next steps will be. Government funding runs out at the end of the month. The House vote was 202 to 220, with 14 Republicans voting against it, two Republicans voting present and three Democrats voting for it.
A “clean” funding extension without the voting provisions attached is widely viewed on Capitol Hill as the only viable option to prevent a shutdown. But Trump is ramping up the pressure for a shutdown if Republicans are unable to pass the voting measure, which is considered a non-starter in the Democrat-led Senate.
Johnson, fresh off the defeat on the House floor, did not specify what he will do next but said he will “draw up another play.”
“And so now we go back to the playbook, draw up another play, and we’ll come up with a solution.