After meeting with President Biden and Congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, soon-to-be-former Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stated that he intended to push for a budget deal prior to Friday’s deadline to fend off a partial federal government, the New York Times reports, but he’s got a slew of demand from his fractious caucus to address that may not only jeopardize funding but also, if history holds, will threaten his speakership.
Given a bipartisan bill passed by the Senate, Johnson could bring the bill to the floor and get it passed with a bipartisan vote without any drama. But given inherent Republican resistance to good order, members of the House GOP want to include everything from banning the shipment of reproduction medication mifepristone in the US mail or its sale in retail locations; blocking a ban on gun purchases from veterans who the VA medical professionals have deemed mentally incompetent; and cutting increases in family food assistance programs.