Johnson proposes noncitizen voting prevention as part of plan to end government shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared on Tuesday that he was proceeding with a chamber-wide vote to put an end to the government shutdown by attaching a bill aimed at curbing noncitizen voting.

Johnson stated that Congress has an immediate responsibility to fund the federal government and secure our elections.

"We will vote on the 6-month CR with the SAVE Act attached on Wednesday due to our obligation to our constituents. I urge my colleagues to prevent non-American citizens from voting in American elections, as the majority of the country demands and deserves."

Johnson is proposing a six-month extension of the current fiscal year's government funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR), and attaching a bill known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls.

House GOP members express concerns about Johnson's approach to funding fight, as the Biden-Harris White House threatens to veto any measure that includes the SAVE Act.

"Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote in response to Johnson's statement on X, "Your bill does not responsibly fund government. It is 12 bills rolled into one that continues profligate spending and ruins our country. Adding a 13th bill does not make it a serious solution. Please stop insulting our constituents.""

"The CR+Save Act is back, but it's like a doomed zombie," Massie wrote in a separate post. "Speaker Johnson is pretending to fight by attaching a shiny object to a bill that continues our destructive spending path. I won't participate in this insulting charade. I'm a firm no."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., criticized Johnson for his vote on Wednesday, stating, "This is a classic bait and switch that will infuriate the base, just one month before the election, when they discover they have been deceived and betrayed once again. The only way to pass the SAVE Act is to reject a CR until the Senate approves it and Biden signs it into law."

The SAVE Act is opposed by both Biden and Schumer, which means a government shutdown on Oct. 1 will be forced because they are so determined against it.

"Johnson is not committed to standing up against the Democrats in a shutdown fight and will allow a clean CR to pass in order to fund the government, as he believes a government shutdown will be blamed on Republicans and will harm their elections."

"Even though the SAVE Act was shut down and there was a full fight into October, it would still be too late to make a difference for this election because absentee ballots were already being mailed and early voting had already started. I refuse to deceive anyone about this plan working, and it's already dead on arrival this week," she stated. "Speaker Johnson must go to the Democrats, with whom he has worked closely throughout, to obtain the votes he needs to carry out his already planned actions."

"Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, wrote, "Congress cannot continue to kick the can down the road while our national debt skyrockets, our border remains wide open, and Biden and Kamala's radical policies remain fully funded. I will always be a NO on a Continuing Resolution!""

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, criticized Republicans who threatened to oppose Johnson's continuing resolution on Tuesday, stating that the government would now have to pass a funding continuing resolution before the election. Roy questioned when the resolution would come, how long it would last, and what could have been achieved regarding the SAVE Act and non-citizen voting. He added that a few "conservative prophets" were writing their own self-fulfilling script to achieve failure.

Some states, including Ohio, Virginia, and Texas, discovered non-citizens on their voter rolls, with some of them even casting ballots.

Tiffany wrote Tuesday that the SAVE Act mandates proof of citizenship to vote and guarantees non-citizens are removed from voter rolls. However, Democrats aim to halt the government to prevent its passage.

Democratic defectors could provide assistance to the speaker in passing the SAVE Act.

Former President Donald Trump has supported the SAVE Act.

The Republican presidential nominee stated on TRUTH Social that if the House and Senate do not receive absolute assurances on election security, they should not proceed with a continuing resolution on the budget. The Democrats are attempting to register illegal aliens as voters. This must be stopped - close it down!

The government funding debate will be taken up by a new White House, either led by Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, and a new Congress from January to March.

Planet Chronicle' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.