Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Republicans to vote against a short-term government spending package absent “absolute assurances” that it would bolster “election security.”
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO ‘STUFF’ VOTER REGISTRATIONS WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS,” he argued. “DON’T LET IT HAPPEN – CLOSE IT DOWN!!”!
Democrats and a handful of Republicans in both chambers of Congress have balked at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to link a continuing resolution — which would fund the government through March 28 — to a bill that would require individuals to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
Congress must pass a stop-gap spending bill by Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) dismissed the Louisiana Republican’s proposal as “bluster” on Sunday, arguing that the “only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way.”
If the House were to pass Johnson’s continuing resolution tied to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, it would face long odds of clearing the Democrat-controlled Senate, even if Schumer allows it to be brought up for a vote.
The House speaker, however, is also grappling with backlash from the right.
“I’m voting Hell No on the ‘Continuing Appropriations and Other Matter Act’ this week,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote on X this week, arguing that the proposal doesn’t do enough to cut federal spending.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) also cited the ballooning national debt in opposing a CR tied to the Save Act, while noting that the voting law wouldn’t be “implemented in time to make a difference in the elections.”
“The only guarantee in this CR at the Pelosi/ COVID emergency spending levels is furtherance to national debt and economic collapse while bankrupting the middle class,” he wrote on X. “I’m a NO on bankrupting the nation and a YES on election integrity.”
Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Tim Burchett (R- Tenn.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) have also signaled that they would vote no on Johnson’s CR-plus-SAVE Act plan.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that he plans to wait to see what the House passes before weighing in – as he voiced his displeasure with Trump’s social media post.
“A government shutdown is always a bad idea — at any time,” McConnell said when asked about the former president’s comments, according to The Hill.
“I think we first have to see what the House sends us,” he added. “And, of course, how to handle that comes down to [Schumer].”
“The first step ought to be what comes out of the House, and I think we don’t know right now.”
