House Republicans are fuming at Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) handling of an end-of-year measure to extend government funding until March, saying it is more like a sprawling omnibus — which they abhor — than a simple temporary funding measure.
The continuing resolution (CR), which will keep government funding at current levels through March 14, is also set to include $100.4 billion in disaster aid for those affected by hurricanes earlier this year and $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, lawmakers said, among other provisions.
“It’s not a CR, which is a continuation of the budget. It’s turning into an omnibus,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said.
The final text of the measure has not yet been released as congressional leaders work through the remaining hangups ahead of Friday’s funding deadline. But as the package begins to come into clear focus, Republicans of all stripes — including hardline conservatives, committee chairs and moderates — are hammering away at Johnson for the contents of the product, the process he followed to craft the measure, and how he plans to bring it to the floor for a vote.
“It’s a total dumpster fire, I think it’s garbage,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “This is what Washington, D.C., has done. This is why I ran for Congress, to try to stop this. And sadly, this is happening again.”
“We get this negotiated crap and we’re forced to eat this crap sandwich,” echoed Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), another Freedom Caucus member. “Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It’s the same dang thing every year. Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it’s the right thing to do.”
Johnson received an earful of criticism during a closed-door House GOP conference meeting on Tuesday, where he briefed members on the emerging details of the government funding package.
The gripes are not just coming from hardline conservatives. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who represents a district President Biden won in 2020, stood up during the GOP conference meeting and told Johnson that the government funding process has not been member-driven, according to a source in the room.
Lawler also aired grievances about Democrats playing a key role in the funding process, telling Johnson at one point “I’m not a f—— Democrat.”
“Lawler just went to the microphone and he said ‘this is no way to due process.’ He said ‘this is bulls—,’” the source said. “He’s like ‘look, why are you telling me if I want something I need to go talk to [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)], and [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)] hasn’t blessed this.’”
“He literally said, ‘because I’m not a f—— Democrat,’” the source added. “He said, you know, I should be able to go move the concerns and priorities for my district without having to go talk to these guys. He said it hasn’t been a member-driven process.”
At one point, when Johnson told his members that the CR was a collaborative effort that had committee involvement, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, responded “not true,” according to a source in the room. Smith declined to answer questions from reporters as he left the meeting.
Johnson, for his part, sought to sell the emerging package to his conference during the meeting, claiming to members that Schumer negotiated in bad faith, and that Democrats did not secure any wins in the bill, another source in the room told The Hill.
After the gathering, the Speaker downplayed concerns from Republicans who said the bill is akin to an omnibus.
“This is not an omnibus, okay? This is a small CR that we had to add things to that were out of our control,” Johnson said in a press conference. “These are not man made-disasters. These are things that are — the federal government has an appropriate role to do.”
“So, I wish it weren’t necessary. I wish we hadn’t had record hurricanes in the fall. And I wish our farmers were not in a bind so much that creditors are not able to lend to them. We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” Johnson said.
While details about the final product are beginning to emerge, several key questions remain, including whether Johnson plans to give members at least 72 hours to review the legislation and whether he intends to move the legislation through regular order with a procedural rule rather than under the fast-track process of suspension of the rules. The latter requires support from Democrats to achieve a two-thirds majority for passage, but bypasses a procedural vote that conservatives have used to hold up legislation.
Johnson was non-committal about allowing 72 hours for review during the closed-door conference meeting, a source in the room told The Hill. During a press conference minutes later, however, the Speaker expressed support for the 72-hour rule and said he would try to move the legislation through a regular rule process.
“I believe in the 72-hour rule,” Johnson told reporters. “I believe we ought to try to pass this on a rule, go through regular process. We’re committed to all of that.”
That would mean a vote on the bill would not come until at least Friday, frustrating lawmakers who were initially scheduled to fly out for the end-of-year holidays on Thursday afternoon.
The broad frustration with the end-of-year package from across the conference is putting Johnson in a precarious position as he aims to remain Speaker next year with an even slimmer House GOP majority than what he has now. A key indicator that his Speakership is on the ropes would be if the majority of House Republicans oppose the CR.
Asked what the CR means for Johnson’s future — an implicit nod to the looming Speaker vote — Burlison, a Freedom Caucus member, told reporters “personally, I’m disappointed.”
“I think that he can do better,” he added. “He can communicate better. The fact that we haven’t seen the language today and we’re supposed to vote on it this week is unacceptable.”
Johnson, though, said he is “not worried” about getting the support he needs to keep the gavel next year, adding that he “certainly hope[s] and am working towards the majority of the majority” of the GOP conference supporting the CR.
“We’re governing. Everybody knows we have difficult circumstances. We’re doing the very best we can under those circumstances,” Johnson said.
In a good sign for Johnson, Greene — who once tried to remove Johnson from his post but now plans to vote for him for Speaker — declined to criticize Johnson specifically for his handling of the end-of-year bill.
“I haven’t been involved in that process,” Greene said, “so I can’t criticize, not being in the room.”
