Republican Representative Thomas Massie warned House Speaker Mike Johnson that he’s running out of time to prevent a federal government shutdown while he’s still in good graces with House GOP members.
The deadline for a shutdown is November 17, and Johnson has yet to announce his plan to prevent one. Johnson, of Louisiana, was elected speaker on October 25, three weeks after Representative Kevin McCarthy of California was ousted from the speakership. McCarthy’s exit was spurred by far-right House Republicans opposing his decision to vote with Democrats on a “continuing resolution” (CR) that extended government funding 45 days beyond the previous September 30 shutdown deadline.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson emphasized that he does not want a government stoppage, but did not offer any details about prevention efforts.
“I’m not going to tell you when we will bring it to the floor, but it will be in time, how about that? Trust us: We’re working through the process in a way that I think that people will be proud of,” Johnson said. “[We had] very deliberate, positive discussions about the many options that are on the table, and we’ll be revealing what our plan is in short order.”
Newsweek reached out to Johnson via email for comment Thursday.
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Massie, of Kentucky, told reporters on Thursday that Johnson will need to make a decision soon and suggested a CR that expires in September 2024.
“I think there’s a honeymoon period here. I’m not sure how long it lasts, maybe 30 days, with what’s going on on the floor today that indicates the honeymoon might be shorter than we thought,” Massie said.
“Every time the CR expires, the speaker is putting his head in the lion’s mouth,” the GOP congressman added. “If I were advising the speaker, I would say do a one-year CR before the honeymoon period runs out—buy you enough runway to get you to September 30, 2024.”
Newsweek reached out to Massie via email for comment Thursday.
Johnson has considered a “laddered CR,” in which Congress would introduce staggered deadlines, prioritizing the funding of agencies with more expedient deadlines, instead of extending the 12 federal funding bills all at once with the same deadline.
This approach has seen support from far-right GOP members, but also backlash from Democrats and some Republicans who found it confusing and impractical.
Senator Susan Collins, Maine Republican and vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, said she prefers moving full funding bills into packages of three at a time, called “minibuses.”
“I would prefer that we continue with the original plan, which was to have four minibuses,” she said.
Johnson has received criticism from the MAGA sector for supporting Israel’s war against Palestinian militants Hamas while there’s trouble at home. Johnson pushed a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel, which was passed by the House on November 2.
Rumble personality Ryan Matta said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on October 30: “MIKE JOHNSON PUTS ISRAEL 1ST KNOWING THERE ARE 4 MILLION ILLEGAL RIDING TRAIN CARAVANS THROUGH MEXICO.”
“Politicians are incapable of putting America First!” Trump supporter Cynthia Holt posted online about Johnson.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.