Shutdown averted as Speaker Mike Johnson draws heat from conservatives

By 
 January 19, 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson ended talk of a government this week the temporary spending measure he helped negotiate passed in the House. 

That's according to the Washington Examiner, which noted how the continuing resolution passed on Thursday by a vote of 314 to 108.

Continuing resolution required Democratic support

Under its provisions, lawmakers will now have an additional six weeks to workout a final spending plan for the 2024 fiscal year.

The Examiner noted how the continuing resolution was backed by 207 Democrats, whose support was needed to reach the two-thirds majority required for its passage under a suspension of House rules.

Meanwhile, some Republicans have been highly vocal in their criticism of the deal Johnson reached, complaining that the speaker did not win enough concessions from Democrats.

Among them is House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, who condemned the resolution for failing on border security and fiscal restraint.

House Freedom Caucus complained that deal "doesn't secure the border"

"We're making a statement that what the deal as has been announced that doesn't secure the border, and that doesn't cut our spending — and it’s going to be passed, apparently, under suspension of the rules by predominantly Democrat votes — is unacceptable," the Examiner quoted Good as saying late last week.

"My hope is to persuade the speaker and the leadership and our entire Republican conference to not follow through with the deal as it’s been announced," he continued.

"We have leverage as a House majority," the Virginia Republican stressed. "Even though our majority is narrow and it’s tight, we can pass everything that we want to with a simple-vote majority. [The Senate] can't force anything upon us. And that leverage has to be utilized."

That message was followed by a post which was put up Thursday afternoon on the House Freedom Caucus' X account.

Good: Republicans are funding "the Biden border invasion"

"Today, the House Freedom Caucus released the following official position urging Republicans to uphold commitments to end inflationary spending and secure the border," it read.

Good also put up a social media post of his own which asserted that Republicans "had the opportunity to attach border security to the CR."

"It is what a majority of people want, and yet we voted yesterday to give billions of dollars to Secretary Mayorkas to continue the Biden border invasion policies," he lamented.

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