U.S.
Speaker
of
the
House
Mike
Johnson
(R-LA)
speaks
during
a
news
conference
with
families
of
hostages
held
by
Hama
in
Gaza,
in
the
Rayburn
Room
of
the
U.S.
Capitol
November
7,
2023
in
Washington,
DC.
Drew
Angerer
|
Getty
Images
WASHINGTON
—
House
Republicans
on
Saturday
unveiled
their
stopgap
funding
bill
to
avert
a
government
shutdown
set
to
begin
next
weekend.
But
with
just
five
legislative
days
left
until
the
deadline,
Congress
has
little
room
for
error.
Just
two
and
a
half
weeks
into
the
job,
Speaker
Mike
Johnson,
R-La.,
opted
to
go
with
a
two-step
continuing
resolution,
or
CR,
over
a
more
typical
funding
extension
covering
the
entire
federal
government.
The
untested
funding
approach
is
aimed
at
appeasing
far-right
agitators
in
his
GOP
conference
who
despise
CRs.
The
House
is
expected
to
vote
as
early
as
Tuesday
to
give
members
72
hours
to
read
the text
of
the
bill,
according
to
two
people
familiar
with
matter.
The
plan
does
not
include
budget
cuts
or
aid
for
Israel.
Under
the
two-step
strategy
—
which
Johnson
and
others
have
dubbed
a
“laddered
CR”
but
which
others
have
likened
to
a
step
stool
—
several
spending
bills
needed
to
keep
the
government
open
would
be
extended
until
Jan.
19,
while
the
remaining
bills
would
go
on
a
CR
until
Feb.
2.
GOP
hardliners
had
been
pushing
Johnson
to
include
budget
cuts
as
part
of
his
two-tiered
CR
plan,
a
source
involved
in
discussions
told
NBC
News.
One
House
Republican,
Rep. Chip
Roy
of
Texas,
quickly
voiced
his
opposition
to
the
bill
shortly
after
it
was
released.
“It’s
a 100%
clean.
And
I
100%
oppose,”
Roy
tweeted.
“My
opposition to
the
clean
CR
just
announced
by
the
Speaker
to
the
@HouseGOP
cannot
be
overstated.
Funding
Pelosi
level
spending
&
policies
for
75
days
—
for
future
“promises.”
The
plan
is
designed
to
avoid
a
messy
showdown
right
before
the
holidays
and
buy
Johnson
and
House
Republicans
more
time
to
pass
individual
spending
bills,
but
also
create
a
sense
of
urgency
with
staggered
funding
cliffs.
But
it
remains
to
be
seen
if
the
plan
can
pass
the
House,
much
less
the
Democratic-controlled
Senate,
which
has
dismissed
the
two-tiered
approach.
“This
two-step
continuing
resolution
is
a
necessary
bill
to
place
House
Republicans
in
the
best
position
to
fight
for
conservative
victories,”
Johnson
said
in
a
statement
after
he
announced
the
plan.
“The
bill
will
stop
the
absurd
holiday-season
omnibus
tradition
of
massive,
loaded
up
spending
bills
introduced
right
before
the
Christmas
recess.”
He
added:
“Separating
out
the
CR
from
the
supplemental
funding
debates
places
our
conference
in
the
best
position
to
fight
for
fiscal
responsibility,
oversight
over
Ukraine
aid,
and
meaningful
policy
changes
at
our
Southern
border.”
The
laddered
plan
has
the
backing
of
Congress’
most
conservative
members,
including
Republicans
who
normally
never
vote
for
stopgap
bills.
If
Johnson
could
get
a
temporary
funding
bill
passed
with
only
Republican
votes,
that
would
help
him
notch
an
early
win
among
conservatives.
“I
like
the
ladder
approach,”
said
Rep.
Ken
Buck,
R-Colo.,
a
member
of
the
hard-right
House
Freedom
Caucus.
“I
think
if
we
try
to
pass
some
appropriations
bills,
we’re
doing
better
than
we’ve
done
in
the
past.”
More
from
NBC
News:
But
Democrats
in
both
chambers
have
made
it
abundantly
clear
that
they
hate
this
idea,
as
does
the
White
House
—
all
of
whom
want
a
simple
extension
of
government
funding
without
any
gimmicks.
Democrats’
unified
opposition
to
the
laddered
CR
could
mean
that
the
House
will
ultimately
have
to
swallow
whatever
clean
or
relatively
clean
CR
gets
passed
by
the
Senate.
“I
want
a
clean
CR,”
declared
Connecticut
Rep.
Rosa
DeLauro,
the
top
Democrat
on
the
Appropriations
Committee.
Democratic
Leader
Hakeem
Jeffries
of
New
York
all
but
ruled
out
the
two-tiered
approach
when
pressed
by
NBC
News
on
Thursday.
“A
continuing
resolution
that
is
at
the
fiscal
year
2023
levels
is
the
only
way
forward
because
that’s
the
status
quo,”
he
said,
advocating
for
a
“clean”
CR.
Across
the
Capitol,
Senate
Majority
Leader
Chuck
Schumer,
D-N.Y.,
teed
up
a
vote
on
a
separate
stopgap
measure,
setting
the
wheels
in
motion
for
action
next
week.
The
Democratic-led
Senate
is
eyeing
a
clean
continuing
resolution
that
would
run
through
mid-January,
without
additional
funding
for
Ukraine,
Israel
and
the
border,
according
to
two
sources
directly
involved
in
the
process.
But
Schumer
would
likely
need
a
time
agreement
from
all
100
senators
to
fund
the
government
by
Friday’s
deadline,
something
Senate
hard-liners
will
be
reluctant
to
give.
“I
implore
Speaker
Johnson
and
our
House
Republican
colleagues
and
learn
from
the
fiasco
of
a
month
ago.
Hard-right
proposals,
hard-right
slash
and
cuts,
hard-right
poison
pills
that
have
zero
support
from
Democrats
will
only
make
a
shutdown
more
likely,”
Schumer
said
in
a
floor
speech.
What’s
clear
is
that
after
last
month’s public
GOP
civil
war over
the
speaker’s
gavel,
Republicans
have
little
appetite
for
shutting
down
the
government.
Even
some
hardcore
conservatives,
like
Rep.
Dan
Bishop,
R-N.C.,
said
they
are
willing
to
vote
for
a
CR
to
keep
the
government
open
and
don’t
care
how
it’s
structured.
“I’m
open
to
supporting
a
CR,
and
if
you’ve
been
following
me,
that’s
a
180-degree
turn,”
said
Bishop,
a
Freedom
Caucus
member
who
is
running
for
North
Carolina
attorney
general.
He
said
his
wife
recently
asked
what
was
happening
in
Congress
this
week.
He
replied:
Figuring
out
“what
the
features
of
the
CR
are
going
to
be.”
“I
just
don’t
think
that
Americans
care
that
much,”
Bishop
added.
