Former President Donald Trump is once again urging House Republicans to shut down the government unless they can pass a GOP proposal tacked onto the current short-term spending plan that requires proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, mere hours before a floor vote.
“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” he wrote on his Truth Social social media platform. “BE SMART, REPUBLICANS, YOU’VE BEEN PUSHED AROUND LONG ENOUGH BY THE DEMOCRATS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN.”
It’s hardly the first time Trump has drawn such a red line — which congressional Republicans seem prepared to ignore. A growing swath of the conference has acknowledged that Congress is all but guaranteed to pass a short-term spending bill by the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline that will fund the government until after the November election.
But his latest public pressure campaign comes just hours before Speaker Mike Johnson is set to force a vote on his plan to link the voting proposal to a six-month stopgap government funding bill.
Johnson and his leadership team spent the weekend and early this week trying to sway holdouts. As of late last week there were roughly 10 GOP no votes, and several other lawmakers were undecided — meaning the final number of Republicans who vote against the plan could grow.
But that plan is expected to fail given opposition from defense hawks, as well as a band of conservative Republicans who oppose any short-term spending bill. In addition to the “no” votes, Republicans are also expected to have members absent, decreasing their pool of potential yes votes.
Trump has been urging House Republicans for weeks to shut down the government if they can’t pass their voting bill — something that is a nonstarter in the Democratic-controlled Senate and appears unlikely to even be able to pass the House.
And even as Trump pressures lawmakers in his own party, some of his allies aren’t publicly embracing trying to shutter the government just weeks before the election.
Asked if he would follow Trump’s urging, Johnson told reporters earlier that “see what happens with the bill.”
“We’re on the field in the middle of the game, the QB is calling the play and we’re going to run the play,” he added.
Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
