For all of his talk, Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed a government funding bill that is just like the one that got Kevin McCarthy booted, and he’ll need Democratic votes to pass it.
Overall, Johnson’s proposal is basically the same approach that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted for — a clean CR at current funding levels. Andhe’lll need Democrats to help pass it. But that’s the strategy Johnson decided on following extensive meetings with Republicans from across his conference.
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House Democratic leaders haven’t formally said they’ll recommend a vote against it. Remember: If more Democrats end up voting for this bill than Republicans, Johnson is in trouble.
The trouble that Johnson will be in doesn’t relate to passing a resolution to keep the government open. The problem will be within his own conference. MAGA Mike could soon become Fired Mike if House Republicans get frustrated enough with him.
Speaker Johnson is doing the rational thing with his CR legislation. No one outside of the MAGA Chaos Caucus wants to shut down the government before the holidays.
Johnson didn’t attach any spending cuts or poison pills to the CR, so he knows he needs Democratic support to pass the resolution in the House, but if more Democrats vote for the CR than Republicans, Johnson could be going down the road that cost Kevin McCarthy his job.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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