Third time's the charm? Speaker Johnson puts forth new spending strategy as government shutdown looms.



After Speaker Mike Johnson's first two funding bills were blocked by the House, Republican leadership has put forth a plan C in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a government shutdown.

During a closed-door meeting with the Republican conference on Friday, with less than 12 hours before the midnight funding deadline, Johnson laid out two options to keep the government open.

As lawmakers go back to the drawing board, the possibility of a government shutdown is becoming increasingly plausible.

The first option Johnson proposed was the same Trump-endorsed CR the House blocked on Thursday. In contrast, his CR would exclude any provisions raising the debt limit and would keep the government funded through March 14. Like the Thursday night vote, this CR would be voted under suspension, requiring a two-thirds majority to pass the bill.

Consequently, this approach would require a significant portion of Democrats to side with Johnson's bill. Nearly all Democrats voted against the Trump-backed CR.

The second option Johnson put forth involved three separate votes on a clean CR that would extend through March 14, disaster aid, and the farm bill. With this three-pronged approach, Johnson would put the bills through the Rules Committee, thus requiring only a simple majority to pass the bills.

"This isn’t complicated," Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said in a Thursday post on X. "Separate the bills and vote on them individually. One vote on the clean CR[,] one vote on the debt limit[,] one vote on disaster relief[,] one vote on farm bailouts[.] Radical right? Individual bills for each issue."

"Single Subject Bills," Republican Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas said in a Friday post on X. "Vote on them individually."

Johnson's first CR was introduced late Tuesday evening after several delays over the weekend. The original 1,547-page CR was met with a firestorm of frustration from Republican lawmakers, MAGA allies, and even President-elect Donald Trump himself.

In less than 24 hours, Johnson promptly scrapped the first CR following a slew of scrutiny. After another day of tireless negotiations within the Republican conference, Johnson put out a slim 116-page CR on Thursday, a far cry from the bloated bill he initially proposed.

The skinny CR was quickly voted on that same Thursday evening under suspension, requiring support from two-thirds of the House to pass. Despite earning the enthusiastic support from Trump, Johnson's CR ultimately failed, with 38 Republicans and nearly all Democrats voting to tank the bill.

As lawmakers go back to the drawing board, the possibility of a government shutdown is becoming increasingly plausible.

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Mike Johnson holds on to speakership following Trump endorsement



Mike Johnson was unanimously nominated to serve for a second term as speaker of the House on Wednesday.

Amid rumors of defection within the House Republican conference, Johnson has managed to unify the GOP behind him for a second time, running and securing the nomination unopposed. The official vote will take place in January once the new Congress begins.

During the meeting, Trump told the Republicans that he '100%' supports Johnson as speaker.

Although the House has not yet been called for either party, Republicans are projected to hold on to their majority. As of this writing, Republicans have secured 217 of the 218 seats needed to hold a majority while Democrats have won 207 seats.

While Republicans are set to retain control of the House, they will likely hold a narrow majority. As a result, many contentious or consequential votes are likely to be tight.

Leading up to the vote, President-elect Trump reaffirmed his support for Johnson during a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday morning.

During the meeting, Trump told the Republicans that he "100%" supports Johnson as speaker.

"This is a tremendous guy," Trump said. "I'm with him all the way."

"Our strong [House GOP] majority is looking forward to advancing your agenda that puts the American people FIRST!" Johnson said, addressing Trump in a post on X following the meeting. "As you said, we will unify and get it done!"

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EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Clyde Slams House Leadership For Threatening To Pull His Second Amendment Bill Over Debt Ceiling Vote

'Severely Disappointed'

Rep. Tom Emmer Wins GOP Nomination For House Whip, Defeats Rep. Jim Banks

115-106

EXCLUSIVE: House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik Details Her Efforts To Have Liz Cheney Removed From Leadership

'Out of touch'

GOP Votes In Trump-Endorsed Elise Stefanik To Replace ‘Bitter’ Liz Cheney In House Leadership

Republicans officially voted to elect Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York to replace Rep. Liz Cheney in Republican House leadership on Thursday.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy considering run against Elise Stefanik for House leadership: report



Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy is reportedly mulling a run against New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R) to replace Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference Chair following Cheney's ouster.

What are the details?

The Daily Caller first reported that according to two sources, Roy is considering throwing his hat in the ring against Stefanik for the No. 3 position in House GOP leadership.

When reached for comment on the prospect, Roy's office told the outlet, "While not ruling anything out, Congressman Roy has never sought a position in conference leadership. His focus is on serving Texas' 21st Congressional district … But if the position must be filled, then this must be a contested race — not a coronation."

Cheney was ousted from leadership Wednesday in a voice vote, over her continued vocal opposition to Republicans supporting former President Donald Trump, after she voted to impeach him for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by a mob of his supporters.

Stefanik has been widely floated as a replacement for Cheney, and Trump himself issued a statement endorsing her.

But on Tuesday, Roy sent a letter to all House GOP members urging them to pick someone other than Stefanik for the role, citing her "liberal" voting record .

He wrote to his colleagues, "With all due respect to my friend, Elise Stefanik, let us contemplate the message Republican leadership is about to send by rushing to coronate a spokesperson whose voting record embodies much of what led to the 2018 a**-kicking we received by Democrats."

The congressman also said in his letter that he would vote to recall Cheney.

Roy has voted 90% of the time in favor of Trump's positions, compared to Cheney's 65% and Stefanik's 35%.

Anything else?

Meanwhile, Cheney remains defiant after being booted from leadership.

She told NBC News' Savannah Guthrie following the vote that she intends to be "one of the leaders in a fight to help restore" the Republican Party, "in a fight to bring our party back to substance and principles."

When Guthrie noted that Trump's allies were actively seeking to find a primary challenger to oust her from Congress entirely, Cheney replied, "Bring it on."

CHENEY: I intend to be…one of the leaders in a fight to help to restore our party, in a fight to bring our party ba… https://t.co/nbmOMv5ADb
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) 1620852539.0

Reports: House Republicans confident Liz Cheney will be ousted from leadership, discussing her replacement



House Republicans are inching closer to forcing House GOP Conference Chairman Liz Cheney (Wyo.) from her leadership position, with some so confident she will be removed that several congresswomen are being discussed to replace her, according to multiple reports.

"Liz is gone. Just a question of how and when," one Republican lawmaker told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Among those being discussed to succeed Cheney as the No. 3 Republican in the House are Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Axios reported Tuesday.

Tensions are running high in the GOP conference as several lawmakers are fed up with Cheney's vocal criticism of former President Donald Trump, believing her to be a "liability" who is taking Republicans off-message ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Recently, Cheney told the New York Post that "the senators who led the unconstitutional charge" to challenge the Electoral College results on Jan. 6 had committed a "disqualifying" offense and should be left out of consideration for the 2024 presidential nomination. She made those remarks at a policy retreat in Florida, where House Republicans had intended to gather to discuss strategy and develop a cohesive and unified message to bring to the American people.

This week, she accused the former president of "poisoning our democratic system" by continuing to insist the results of the 2020 presidential election were illegitimate, calling Trump's claims that the election was stolen "THE BIG LIE."

Cheney's repeated insistence that the party must move on from Trump has put her in conflict with other lawmakers who recognize the party base is still firmly in Trump's corner and fear alienating Trump's supporters could keep them from winning congressional majorities in 2022.

In the strongest sign yet that Cheney's future in leadership is in doubt, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) acknowledged Tuesday that her "ability to carry out the job as conference chair" has become a concern among several members of the GOP caucus.

"I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message," McCarthy said on "Fox & Friends." "We all need to be working as one if we're able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given, they are earned. And that's about the message about going forward."

In response, a spokesman for Cheney released a statement, saying: "This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on Jan 6. Liz will not do that. That is the issue."

Previously, McCarthy had defended Cheney from an attempt by some conservative lawmakers to force her out of leadership in retribution for her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. But as Cheney has continued to attack the former president and her relationship with McCarthy has frayed, the GOP leader's allies have begun hinting to the media that her time in leadership will be over before the month's end.

As for who could replace Cheney in leadership, both Axios and Punchbowl News have reported there is a "consensus" opinion that a woman must succeed Cheney if she is tossed out.

In response to those reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement mocking Republicans for seeking a "non-threatening female" to serve under McCarthy and Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.).

"Word is out that House GOP Leaders are looking to push Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as House Republican Conference Chair – their most senior woman in GOP leadership – for a litany of very Republican reasons: she won't lie, she isn't humble enough, she's like a girlfriend rooting for the wrong team, and more," Pelosi's office said.

The House Republican conference will meet Wednesday, May 12. It would take a two-thirds vote by secret ballot to remove Cheney from leadership.