For months, Trump has called on Republicans to pair a bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote with a stopgap measure to keep the government open past Sept. 30.
The Speaker attempted to bring up a bill pairing that policy measure with a six-month funding extension this week — only to be stopped in his tracks by a wall of GOP opposition that crossed ideological lines.
As a result, Johnson eventually decided to punt a scheduled vote.
But amid growing Republican opposition to the stopgap this week, Trump chimed in to up the ante on his request and threatened a government shutdown.
“If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Corralling the slim House GOP majority to support any kind of partisan continuing resolution (CR) was already a tall order. But as Johnson and GOP leaders regroup and weigh whether they can get any wins on the must-pass legislation before the election, Trump’s demands are kicking the difficulty of the Speaker’s mission up a notch.
“Mike’s job is complicated, trying to appease the conference,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a senior appropriator.
“When there’s additional input coming from outside of the conference of significant influence — I mean, the former president’s got significant influence — that makes his decision-making just a little bit more of a challenge.”
The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell have more here.
