Janice R. Andrews
In an angry reaction to the House GOP’s plan for short-term funding, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) plan for funding the government “unserious and unacceptable” on Monday. Jeffries’s comments show how tense things are getting in Congress over efforts to keep the government from shutting down and how deeply divided Republicans are on how to move forward.
The GOP’s plan includes a continuing resolution (CR) for six months and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) Act, a bill backed by former President Donald Trump that would make it necessary to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. Democrats see the bill as a political attempt to push Trump’s plan for voter fraud before the 2024 elections.
Jeffries: The GOP plan is too extreme
In a message to his Democratic peers, Jeffries criticised the Republican plan for trying to link important government funds to policies that he sees as being very biassed. He said that the plan could hurt regular Americans by causing the government to shut down, and he insisted that Congress must pass a short-term funding answer that isn’t tied to politics.
According to Jeffries, the GOP-led government shutdown would be bad for everyone. To avoid this, Congress needs to pass a short-term continuing resolution that lets us finish the appropriations process this year and doesn’t include any partisan policy changes inspired by Trump’s Project 2025. “There is no other way forward that protects the health, safety, and economic well-being of American taxpayers who work hard.”
Jeffries was talking about Trump’s larger plan to change the way the U.S. runs its government in preparation for a possible run for president again in 2025. But Democrats are strongly against the GOP’s funding plan because it includes the SAVE Act. They say it’s not needed because people who are not U.S. citizens can’t vote in federal elections already.
Democrats want the stopgap to be shorter.
Democrats, like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), want a shorter continuing resolution so that funding talks can be over by the end of the year instead of a longer six-month stopgap that could make the process last until the next president takes office.
In his letter, Jeffries said the same things about these worries. He said that the GOP’s plan is “designed to create chaos” and “leave critical funding decisions for the next administration.” Democrats want a clean CR that doesn’t have the voting limits in the SAVE Act. This would keep the government open while they work on funding for fiscal year 2025.
GOP Pays Attention to Fair Elections
Republicans have made election integrity a key part of their platform, even though Democrats are against it. Trump’s influence can be seen in their policy ideas. Speaker Johnson has pushed the SAVE Act as an important way to protect the security of U.S. votes, especially as the 2024 presidential election draws near.
Johnson and other GOP leaders say that the SAVE Act is an important way to keep outsiders from meddling in elections. People think that putting this bill together with the continuing resolution is a smart way to keep election security at the top of the political agenda.
Republicans in the House have also pushed for a longer stopgap spending bill so that Trump can have a say in how the government spends money if he wins re-election in 2024. Conservative parts of the GOP have backed the budget plan that includes the SAVE Act, but it has also caused disagreements within the party.
Uncertain Way to Move Forward
Jeffries’ official resistance to the GOP plan for funding adds to the heat on Speaker Johnson, who only has a slim majority in the House. Republicans can afford to lose only four members if Democrats stay together and fight against the bill. But at least two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.), have already spoken out against the plan, saying they don’t think it will work.
Also, Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), and Jared Golden (Maine), along with a few other Democrats in the House, backed the SAVE Act when it was first presented as a separate bill in July. It’s still not clear if these Democrats will support the GOP’s CR-plus-SAVE Act bill, which could make it harder for the Democrats to fight it.
The GOP’s chances of getting the budget package through the Senate are not good, even if they get it through the House. Schumer has made it clear that the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, will not pass any bill that has “poison pills” or things that he calls “Republican extremism.”
As time runs out on a possible government shutdown, the political fight over the funding plan gets worse, with both sides trying to find a way to move forward. If Republicans get the CR-plus-SAVE Act through the House, it could set Johnson up for tougher talks with Senate Democrats, but the bill’s total fate is still very unclear.
Jeffries’ harsh criticism of the GOP plan to fund government shows how far apart the parties’ ideas are. The fight between Democrats and Republicans over funding goals and election integrity is likely to get worse as time runs out for the government to shut down. This puts the American people at risk of another federal funding crisis.
