New US House speaker tries to muster his Republicans to avert a government shutdown.

Wandering Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson is up against a formidable opponent in the legislative arena this week as he attempts to rally the divided Republican majority behind a novel proposal to stop the partial government shutdown scheduled to start on Saturday.

Hardline House Republicans had already begun to oppose Johnson’s plan for a two-step stopgap package that would not reduce spending in any way. This “clean” bill was similar to the one that caused the historic removal of Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.

Following a months-long spring impasse over the country’s more than $31 trillion in debt, which put the federal government on the verge of default, this is the third fiscal confrontation in Washington this year.

Due to the ongoing partisan impasse and divisions within the slim 221-212 House Republican majority, Moody’s lowered the United States’ credit rating outlook from “stable” to “negative” late Friday. The rating agency stated that high interest rates would continue to increase borrowing costs. In the fiscal year that concluded on September 30, we had a $1.695 trillion national deficit.

To avoid disruptions in the pay of up to 4 million federal employees, the closure of national parks, and barriers to everything from scientific research to financial oversight, many Democratic members of Congress expressed their willingness to consider Johnson’s proposal. The Democratic-majority Senate must approve it by Friday at midnight.

“I am dedicated to bringing Washington back to normalcy, but it will take weeks to mend a decades-old, flawed system,” Johnson, a member from Louisiana who has never before held a high-ranking post in Congress, stated on social media on Sunday.

On Saturday, Johnson announced the “C.R.,” or unique two-step continuing resolution. It was designed to win over two opposing Republican groups: centrists calling for a “clean” vehicle free of conservative policy riders and budget cutbacks that Democrats would not accept and hardliners demanding separate funding dates for various government agencies.

His measure would support energy and water programs, housing, urban development, transportation, housing for veterans, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and military construction through January 19. On February 2, funding for all other federal functions, including defense, would run out.

The law’s goal is to pressure the House and Senate to reach a consensus on spending legislation for the 2024 fiscal year by the deadlines. House Republicans will impose a full-year C.R. for 2024 “with appropriate adjustments to meet our national security priorities,” Johnson further threatened Democrats if Congress cannot reach a compromise.

Hardliners who had pushed for a C.R. with budget cuts, the White House, and both parties’ legislators swiftly attacked the strategy. Hardline colleague Warren Davidson and firebrand Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene declared they planned to vote against it.

A ‘WILLING TO LISTEN’ DEMOCRAT
Over the weekend, the White House attacked the proposal as chaotic, but given the lack of cutbacks and Johnson’s choice to put defense spending on the later end date, there were signs that the plan would provide Congress with a way forward. Democrats were concerned that Republicans would threaten to axe the remaining programs after placing defense and other party priorities in the first tranche.

A spokesman for the Senate Democratic leadership said, “It’s a good thing the Speaker didn’t include unnecessary cuts and kept defense funding with the second group of programs.”

On Sunday, NBC quoted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy saying he may back the two-step approach. “It seems gimmicky,” Murphy remarked. “I don’t like what the House is talking about, but I’m willing to listen.”

The Republicans in the House want to vote on Tuesday. However, it is uncertain if their conference, which has been at odds with itself for the last ten months on problems related to spending and the cultural war, will be able to get the 217 votes required to pass the bill without Democratic support, which many Republicans consider to be the measure of success.

When he failed to meet that standard, McCarthy was removed from office, but several House Republicans believed Johnson should have been given more time.

“He deserves and needs the backing of every member of our conference. The House Rules Committee head, Representative Tom Cole, stated that for the new C.R. to be effective, individuals now need to swallow their pride and do certain things they may not like. The committee will have a hearing on Monday.

This year’s vicious Republican infighting, including the party’s rejection of three experienced candidates for House Speaker, has coincided with declining government income and rising interest, health, and pension expenditures.

PART OF THE FINANCES
Regarding discretionary expenditures for the fiscal year 2024, lawmakers disagree. The $1.59 trillion mark that Biden and McCarthy established in their debt ceiling deal earlier this year is what many Republicans, including Democrats, want to remain at. Hardliners have advocated for a $120 billion cut in the amount. However, they have indicated a net readiness to compromise in the last few days.

A tiny portion of the U.S. budget, which includes mandated spending on Social Security and Medicare, is the subject of the political dispute. In fiscal 2023, U.S. expenditures exceeded $6.1 trillion overall.

Republicans think Johnson, a devout Christian conservative who now has the respect of hardliners, is unlikely to take a chance on McCarthy’s destiny if he manages to prevent a partial government shutdown with significant backing from House Democrats.

Representative Ken Buck, one of the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy via a legislative resolution to “vacate the chair,” remarked, “We all learned a lesson.”