Johnson moves forward on House vote to stop government shutdown with noncitizen voting prevention attached

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Tuesday that he was moving forward with a chamber-wide vote to stop a government shutdown with a bill attached meant to crack down on noncitizen voting. 

“Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government, and ensure the security of our elections,” Johnson said in a statement. 

“Because we owe this to our constituents, we will move forward on Wednesday with a vote on the 6-month CR with the SAVE Act attached,” he added. “I urge all of my colleagues to do what the overwhelming majority of the people of this country rightfully demand and deserve – prevent non-American citizens from voting in American elections.”

Johnson is proposing a six-month extension of the current fiscal year’s government funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR), and attaching a bill known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. 

HOUSE GOP DOUBTS GROW AS JOHNSON DIGS IN ON FUNDING FIGHT: ‘PLAYING WITH A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN’ 

Most Democrats oppose the CR with the SAVE Act attached, and the Biden-Harris White House has threatened to veto such a measure. The CR also maintains opposition from some House Republicans. 

“Your bill does NOT responsibly fund government,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote, responding to Johnson’s statement on X. “It’s 12 bills rolled into one bill that continues the profligate spending that’s ruining our country. The fact that you’ve added a 13th bill to it does not make it a serious solution. Please quit insulting our constituents.” 

“Like an undead but doomed zombie, the CR+Save Act is back,” Massie added in a separate post. “Speaker Johnson is fake fighting by attaching a bright shiny object (that he will later abandon) to a bill that continues our path of destructive spending. I won’t be any part of this insulting charade. I’m a hell no.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., condemned Johnson for calling the vote Wednesday, writing, “This is classic bait and switch that will enrage the base, only one month before the election, when they find out they have been tricked and let down again. The only way to make the SAVE Act a law would be to refuse to pass a CR until the Senate agrees to pass the SAVE Act and Biden agrees to sign it into law.”

That, she wrote, would force a government shutdown on Oct. 1, “because Biden and Schumer both said they will shutdown the government as they are that adamant against the SAVE Act.”

“Johnson will NOT commit to standing up against the Democrats in a shutdown fight and will allow passage of a clean CR in order to fund the government because he believes a gov shutdown will be blamed on Republicans and will hurt their elections,” Greene continued. “Johnson is leading a fake fight that he has no intention of actually fighting.”

“Even with a shutdown and full fight into Oct, it would be too late for the SAVE Act to make a difference for this election because absentee ballots would already be being mailed and early voting already starting. I refuse to lie to anyone that this plan will work, and it’s already DOA this week,” she said. “Speaker Johnson needs to go to the Democrats, who he has worked with the entire time, to get the votes he needs to do what he is already planning to do.” 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., ripped House Speaker Mike Johnson’s continuing resolution vote with the SAVE Act attached as a “classic bait and switch” for Republicans. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

“Congress cannot continue kicking the can down the road while our national debt skyrockets, our border remains wide open, and Biden and Kamala’s radical policies remain FULLY funded,” Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, wrote. “I have always and will ALWAYS be a NO on a Continuing Resolution!” 

REPUBLICANS SAY SCHUMER MUST ACT ON VOTER PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP BILL IF DEMOCRAT ‘REALLY CARES ABOUT DEMOCRACY’ 

The congressman who sponsored the SAVE Act, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, slammed Republicans threatening to defect on Johnson’s continuing resolution on Tuesday.  

“Now, there’ll be a govt funding continuing resolution before the election. Only questions: when it comes, how long it lasts, & what could’ve been achieved re: #SAVEAct & non-citizen voting. But a few ‘conservative’ prophets write their self-fulfilling script to achieve failure,” Roy wrote on X. 

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., also noted how “Ohio, Virginia, Texas, & other states found non-citizens on their voter rolls, with some even casting ballots.”

“The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship to vote and ensures non-citizens are removed from voter rolls. But Democrats want to shut down the gov so it does not pass,” Tiffany wrote Tuesday. 

The speaker could get some help from Democratic defectors. Five House Democrats broke from their party to vote for the SAVE Act earlier this year.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., speaks to reporters on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump has supported the SAVE Act. 

Last week, the Republican presidential nominee said on TRUTH Social, however, “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. THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO ‘STUFF’ VOTER REGISTRATIONS WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN – CLOSE IT DOWN!!!” 

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A CR through March would mean the government funding debate will be taken up by a new White House – run by either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris – and a new Congress.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.