House Speaker Mike Johnson told his GOP conference on Saturday, with just five workdays left before the deadline, that he's decided on a plan to avoid a government shutdown. As crunch time approaches, the new speaker said, "I wasn't the architect of the mess we are in" on the phone call, CNN reports. He pitched a two-step continuing resolution instead of the usual funding extension for the whole government. It's an untested strategy and an attempt to mollify the hardline Republicans generally opposed to continuing resolutions, per NBC News. The proposal has no budget cuts, and it does not include military aid for Israel or Ukraine.
The first bill would fund military construction, Veterans Affairs, the Energy Department, transportation, and housing, running until Jan. 19. The second step cover the rest of the government until Feb. 2. Senators have criticized such an approach as overly complicated and difficult to enact. And House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called the strategy a "right-wing joyride which would crash and burn the economy." Republican GOP Rep. Chip Roy, one of the members Johnson was trying to appease, tweeted Saturday that he's opposed to Johnson's proposal because it lacks major spending cuts, per CNN. A House vote could happen as soon as Tuesday. (More government shutdown stories.)
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