House speaker’s bill to avert October shutdown combines stopgap funding with so-called ‘election security’ measures

The House will vote on Wednesday on a government funding package that appears doomed to fail in the divided Congress, as Democrats and a handful of Republicans voice concerns about the two-pronged proposal.

The House Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, has combined a six-month stopgap funding bill with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) Act, a controversial proposal that would require people to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

Donald Trump has further complicated Johnson’s efforts by insisting on Tuesday that Republicans should not pass any government funding bill without addressing “election security”, as he leveled baseless accusations against Democrats of “trying to ‘stuff’ voter registrations with illegal aliens”.

Johnson’s bill would extend government funding until 28 March, more than two months after the new president takes office in January. If Congress does not take action on federal funding this month, the government could shut down starting 1 October.

“I believe we can fund the government responsibly, and I believe that we can do right by the American people and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “And I defy anybody to give me any logical argument why we shouldn’t do that. That’s why I’m so resolute about this.”

Despite the lack of appetite for a government shutdown so close to election day on 5 November, Democrats and some Republicans have balked at Johnson’s proposal. Democrats largely oppose the Save Act, which Republicans claim is necessary to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots. Critics of the Save Act note that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote, and they warn that the policy could prevent valid voters from casting their ballots. The House passed the Save Act in July, but Senate Democrats have shown no interest in advancing the bill.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent on Monday, the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, condemned Johnson’s proposal as “unserious and unacceptable”. He called on Congress to pass a stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution, that would keep the government funded past election day and allow lawmakers to pass a full-year spending package before the new year.

“In order to avert a GOP-driven government shutdown that will hurt everyday Americans, Congress must pass a short-term continuing resolution that will permit us to complete the appropriations process during this calendar year and is free of partisan policy changes inspired by Trump’s Project 2025,” Jeffries said. “There is no other viable path forward that protects the health, safety and economic wellbeing of hardworking American taxpayers.”

Even among fellow Republicans, Johnson has encountered resistance. At least six Republicans have indicated they will oppose the bill, complaining that it does not do enough to cut government spending. The congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican of Kentucky who has repeatedly clashed with Johnson, mocked the speaker’s proposal as “an insult to Americans’ intelligence”.

“The [continuing resolution] doesn’t cut spending, and the shiny object attached to it will be dropped like a hot potato before passage,” Massie said on Monday.

Johnson has simultaneously fielded criticism from the congressman Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House armed services committee, who has expressed concern about how the stopgap bill might affect military readiness. The defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has described passing a full-year spending bill for the Pentagon as “the single most important thing that Congress can do to ensure US national security”.

With such a narrow majority, Johnson can only afford four defections within his conference, assuming every Democrat opposes the bill and all members participate in the vote. Even if Johnson does manage to drag his bill across the finish line, the proposal has virtually no chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

In his own “Dear Colleague” letter sent on Sunday, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, suggested that Democrats would only pass a clean funding bill with no “poison pills” attached.

“As I have said before, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way,” Schumer said. “Despite Republican bluster, that is how we’ve handled every funding bill in the past, and this time should be no exception. We will not let poison pills or Republican extremism put funding for critical programs at risk.”

Trump’s ultimatum, meanwhile, could put Johnson in a bind, and it increases the risk of a government shutdown taking effect just weeks before Americans go to the polls.

Trump said on Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social: “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.”