Trump’s shutdown push falls flat with Republicans

House Republicans are overwhelmingly dismissing former President Trump’s calls for a government shutdown in the absence of a proof-of-citizenship voting bill being signed into law, a public break from the GOP presidential nominee in the lead-up to the November election.

A group of Republicans this week rejected a bill that combined a six-month continuing resolution (CR) with the Trump-backed voting bill, tanking the legislation in a move that thwarted Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) funding strategy.

Now, as the Speaker prepares to defy Trump’s wishes and stage a vote on a “clean” three-month stopgap, rank-and-file Republicans are expected to back it — balking at the former president’s request. Republicans almost universally support the voting bill, but they say pushing the issue so intensely that it results in a shutdown would backfire on the party.

“Everybody wants to go home and campaign, and there are some, particularly that want to go home and campaign, because they’re in really tough races,” Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) said.

The Alabama Republican, who currently serves as policy chair of the House GOP conference, also pointed to national security concerns.

“A government shutdown would embolden our enemies, further undermine our reliability and respect among our allies,” Palmer said. “So, I don’t think a shutdown is good for anybody.”

Trump for weeks has urged House Republicans to pair government funding with a conservative voting bill. Johnson fulfilled that request with his opening salvo in the government funding talks.

The former president, however, amped up his request last week, urging Republicans to shut down the government if they did not secure “absolute assurances on Election Security.” And he reiterated that position Wednesday, hours before the House rejected the six-month stopgap-plus-SAVE Act.

“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding: “BE SMART, REPUBLICANS, YOU’VE BEEN PUSHED AROUND LONG ENOUGH BY THE DEMOCRATS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. Remember, this is Biden/Harris’ fault, not yours!”

Trump’s pleas contrasted with the strategy among GOP lawmakers, who saw the CR-plus-SAVE Act as an opening offer — and a way to play into Trump’s past false stolen election claims and repeated skepticism of the voting system — but knew it would not be the measure that prevented a shutdown.

Even if the lower chamber passed it, the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House — which point out that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote and expressed concern about burdening eligible voters — never would have accepted it.

Republicans believe the blame for any shutdown would be placed on their own shoulders, not the Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for example, called a government shutdown at this juncture “politically beyond stupid” and predicted the GOP would bear responsibility for allowing the lights to turn off in Washington.

House Republicans are echoing that sentiment.

“I don’t know that a shutdown really helps us right now, and what we’re trying to accomplish — keep the majority, win the White House,” said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House.

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), a subcommittee chair on the House Appropriations Committee, sounded a similar note while zeroing in on the looming election.

“Closing down the government during this process is not a good idea for anyone involved, certainly for our government, certainly for momentum going into an election,” Joyce said. “I think it’s important that we stay open and get through this election and then make decisions in November and December.”

The insistence from Trump, nonetheless, is complicating the GOP’s path to averting a shutdown at the end of the month as House GOP leaders move on to their plan B: A clean, short-term stopgap until December.

Johnson is now in the delicate position of managing the expectations of the former president, with whom he has kept a good relationship — and whose support he will likely need to remain Speaker next year if Republicans win the House.

The Speaker has spoken to Trump about the current government funding fight, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill. Punchbowl News first reported the conversations.

Johnson met with Trump in Washington on Thursday night — the second gathering of the two leaders in a week. The Speaker would not detail their discussion, but he did say the former president “understands the situation” House Republicans are currently in.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with President Trump, and I won’t divulge all of them, but he understands the situation that we’re in, and he is doggedly determined to ensure that election security remains a top priority,” Johnson told reporters Friday. “And I am as well, which is why I put the SAVE Act with CR.”

“We want to make sure that everybody understands, it is illegal to vote if you’re a noncitizen,” he continued. “And we’re gonna press that at every opportunity, we’ll use every vehicle coming out of this chamber and every platform that we have to make this message loud and clear.”

Johnson’s office, meanwhile, has continued to put out messaging on the SAVE Act vote, noting that 206 House Democrats voted against the bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Friday morning, he posted a photo of Trump’s Truth Social message that read: “IF YOU VOTE ILLEGALLY, YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL.”

Asked about Trump’s shutdown calls or the prospects of a funding lapse, the Speaker has sought to tamp down concern.

In a CNBC interview Wednesday before the failed six-month CR vote, Johnson said “no one needs to worry” about a shutdown. Later in the day on Fox News after the vote failed, Johnson said: “I don’t think it’s going to come to a shutdown. I believe we can get this job done.”

Not every Republican, however, is resistant to a shutdown, with some fiscal hawks wishing the Speaker would have used the threat of a shutdown as a real leverage point to pressure Democrats to swallow the SAVE Act.

“He still has an aversion to any kind of shutdown,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said of Johnson. “Trump is saying, have a shutdown. And just hadn’t happened. We got to fight at some point.”

Norman added that he did not “buy” the idea that vulnerable House Republicans could be threatened by a government shutdown. 

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), lead sponsor of the SAVE Act and major proponent of pairing it with a stopgap, also said Republicans should not shy away from a shutdown.

“Everybody knows that I’m certainly comfortable with fighting and having a shutdown to force the question on whether or not we’re gonna fund government at the right levels, which means cutting spending, and make sure that we ensure that only citizens vote,” said Roy, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “I’d be happy to do that. But you got to have the votes to go do it.”

But those most involved with the intricacies of government funding strongly disagree.

“We can’t have a shutdown,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), another appropriator. “A shutdown would be catastrophic for our national defense, for our economy.”