Massie: Johnson spending plan is ‘an undead but doomed zombie’

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) knocked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday after news broke of the GOP leader’s plan to bring up a funding bill for consideration this week, despite opposition from members of various factions across the conference.

“Like an undead but doomed zombie, the CR+Save Act is back,” Massie wrote in a post on the social platform X. 

“Speaker Johnson is fake fighting by attaching a bright shiny object (that he will later abandon) to a bill that continues our path of destructive spending,” he added. “I won’t be any part of this insulting charade. I’m a hell no.”

The Hill has reached out to the Speaker’s office for comment. 

The Kentucky Republican is one of a number members in the GOP conference who have come out against the Speaker’s funding strategy to keep the government open past Sept. 30, amid some skepticism in the party of the effort’s chances of success.

He also previously joined Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in an effort to oust Johnson from his top spot earlier this year. 

Massie’s comments came shortly after Johnson announced plans to move forward with a stopgap plan to kick the September funding deadline into March, while also attaching a partisan bill pushing for stricter proof-of-citizenship requirements in elections.

“Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson said Tuesday, adding, “Because we owe this to our constituents, we will move forward on Wednesday with a vote on the 6-month CR with the SAVE Act attached.”

Johnson’s decision to attach the six-month stopgap funding plan, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act embraces a strategy pushed by some hard-line conservatives and former President Trump.

Republican leaders had previously planned to vote on the funding bill last week, but those hopes were dashed when it became clear it didn’t have the support to pass amid pushback from some hard-line conservatives and defense hawks.

In remarks on X on Tuesday, Greene described Johnson’s strategy as a “classic bait and switch that will enrage the base, only one month before the election, when they find out they have been tricked and let down again.”

“The only way to make the SAVE Act a law would be to refuse to pass a CR until the Senate agrees to pass the SAVE Act and Biden agrees to sign it into law,” she wrote on X. “This would force a Gov shutdown on Oct 1 because Biden and Schumer both said they will shutdown the government as they are that adamant against the SAVE Act.”

Advocates of pushing the SAVE Act say the legislation would ensure that only citizens can vote in federal elections, partly by making it mandatory for states to obtain proof of citizenship to register voters and also requiring states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls.

Most Democrats have pushed back strongly against the measure, though, pointing out that noncitizens are already barred from voting in federal elections and arguing the bill could make it harder for people to register to vote and lead to eligible voters being purged from voter rolls. 

In a statement Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Johnson’s strategy, saying “the only thing that will accomplish is make clear that he’s running into a dead end — we must have a bipartisan, a bipartisan, plan instead.

“Now, I will say this: for all its faults, I am heartened that Speaker Johnson’s plan preserves the essence of the Schumer-Johnson agreement that set topline funding levels for FY2024. It’s encouraging to see that Speaker Johnson, at least for now, is resisting the hard-right voices in his party and not pushing for across-the-board cuts that would be so harmful to the American people,” Schumer added.

“I hope it’s a sign that the Speaker realizes that these bipartisan funding levels must be part of any solution moving forward. But beyond that, the Speaker’s CR is too unworkable.”