Several Republican senators have publicly expressed skepticism that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can keep the government funded while he endures backlash from his own party over a proposed continuing resolution, The Hill reported Tuesday.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., last week joined four Republican senators in urging the passage of the government funding bill that is tied to a voter integrity measure or risk damaging the faith Americans hold in federal elections.
Yet, this week Tuberville was concerned that Johnson would be unable to wrangle enough votes to avoid a shutdown and hinted that the Senate might need to step in avoiding a political disaster.
"It's becoming a mess. Especially our military, they're suffering. Even if you do a [continuing resolution], you know they don't get the money they'd normally get. This whole thing's a debacle," Tuberville said of the stalled funding process.
House Republicans on Sept. 9 unveiled funding legislation designed to pay for the government over the next six months and attached to it the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.
Strengthening voter ID laws has been a primary concern of Republican constituents, with many urging the GOP to shore up election integrity laws before the November elections.
Johnson then pulled the bill later in the week and announced he would delay bringing it to a vote until Republicans can unite around the specifics. Since Republicans hold a one-vote majority in the House, any defection will cause the bill to fail.
Senate Republicans now assume Johnson will present a "clean" continuing resolution free of any divisive riders to get moderate Democrats to support him. Such a compromise could cost Johnson his speakership down the road if Republicans hold the majority in the House.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, did not offer any indication of faith in Johnson's negotiating abilities, telling reporters the speaker will bring some form of legislation to the floor but was "making no prediction on passage."
"But I am very worried," Collins said. "I don't think anybody wants a shutdown, but we could slide into a shutdown if we don't get the work done."
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., warned of a "political disaster" if Republicans can't come together and avoid a shutdown less than two months removed from a national election.
"I don't like a shutdown, period," he said. "Whether close to an election or not, it wastes money. It costs taxpayers more money. They don't save, they lose. If we're protecting taxpayer resources, which is supposedly part of our job, we have to find a way to not have a shutdown."
While many Republican hardliners have already refused to vote for any continuation of the current budget, Johnson has 14 days left to pull enough votes together and keep his party from being blamed for government shutdown. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Johnson is going to "have to get the votes."
"He in the majority, so he's got to figure out what the right combination is. It's sort of like a Rubik's Cube," Cornyn said.