House Republicans Disunity Weakens Negotiating Power with Democrats, Threatening Government Shutdown

During a private conference call Friday night, Speaker Mike Johnson addressed House Republicans, expressing concerns about their disunity, which has resulted in ceding leverage to Democrats ahead of the government shutdown deadline next week. This information was reported by two individuals who were on the call.

In response to this disunity, Johnson, alongside the House's leading Republican funding negotiators, intends to dedicate the weekend to reaching a final agreement with Democrats on the first four spending bills set to expire at midnight on March 1, just a week away. These bills are crucial as they fund the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

Democrats vs. Republicans

The speaker is actively working to counter policy demands from Democrats while ensuring the inclusion of GOP priorities in these measures. However, Johnson admitted that his ability to make effective deals is compromised due to a faction of House Republicans consistently obstructing GOP measures, thus preventing them from being debated and passed with a simple majority.

Despite expressing optimism about meeting the upcoming deadline, Johnson acknowledged the looming possibility of a partial government shutdown. While aiming to announce a deal as early as Sunday night, congressional leaders are considering a package that may include some or all of the measures, along with the potential for a short-term funding extension to allow more time for negotiations on the remaining dozen bills, which pose even greater challenges. One proposed date for this stopgap measure is March 22.

Key funding negotiators from both parties have long recognized the difficulty in garnering support for final funding bills, a sentiment echoed by the speaker during the Friday night conference call. House Republican leaders may need substantial backing from Democrats to pass the spending measures, requiring nearly 290 votes, which is a two-thirds majority, should the majority bypass the typical rules for floor debate.

The same conservative members who have been impeding GOP procedural votes are urging Johnson to pursue a funding strategy that would trigger significant cuts to non-defense programs. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) specifically pushed the speaker to advocate for a stopgap through the end of the fiscal year. However, such a long-term patch would enforce cuts to domestic programs while forfeiting billions of dollars in defense funding, as per the spending agreement negotiated by the speaker with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last month, unless Congress disables the budget caps established in the previous year's debt limit deal.