Senate Republicans are expressing concern that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) won’t be able to keep enough of his conference in line to avert a government shutdown this weekend.
House and Senate negotiators are working out the final sticking points in the remaining appropriations bills, which would fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. Johnson said he was “very optimistic” that Congress would be able to avert a shutdown after his White House meeting with President Joe Biden and Senate leaders Tuesday.
“We believe that we can get to agreement on these issues and prevent a government shutdown, and that’s our first responsibility,” Johnson told reporters on the White House lawn. “We will get the government funded.”
Congress has until Friday to pass four of the 12 appropriations bills that fund the federal government. The remaining eight expire next Thursday.
Johnson, Senate leadership, and the White House are negotiating another short-term continuing resolution as part of a larger agreement that would give all parties involved more time to pass the bills and avoid a shutdown. The other option would be to have a partial shutdown for part of next week until the bills can get to Biden’s desk for signature.
Should those avenues fail, Congress could be headed toward a full government shutdown.
While Senate Republicans remain hesitant to criticize Johnson, members have begun voicing their doubts that he can land the plane on the appropriations front, citing the difficulties the lower chamber has had this session with maintaining leadership.
“You’ve got to watch what people do, not what they say,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told the Washington Examiner. “The House is getting blamed. I’ve known Mike Johnson a long time. He pisses excellence. He’s a great guy. He’s been dealt some really bad cards. He’s doing the best he can, but he can’t make people vote a certain way.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) placed the blame a bit more broadly, saying on Tuesday: “At the end of the day, negotiators negotiate, but ultimately it is voted on by the entire House and the entire Senate. The votes are where they are, the realism kicks in.”
“You can’t predict crazy,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a former representative and ally of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in reference to “fringe groups that you’ve got to work with on both ends” of the political spectrum.
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While Mullin dismissed concerns that Johnson could face an ouster from the speakership before the end of the session, he said it is impossible for Congress to get all the bills to Biden’s desk by the two deadlines if you “do the math.”
“If you’re just looking at it in your head, I don’t see how it’s possible,” he explained. “I know everybody says they’re trying to get appropriations bills but, come on, give me a break. I would think you would need at least two weeks per appropriation bill per conference at least.”
