Jeffries slams House GOP’s government funding plan: ‘Unserious and unacceptable’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday slammed the GOP’s stopgap funding proposal as “unserious and unacceptable,” setting the stage for a close vote in the lower chamber on Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) gambit to avert a government shutdown.

Jeffries, in a letter to colleagues, said Johnson’s government funding legislation — which pairs a six-month continuing resolution with bill backed by former President Trump to require proof of citizenship to register to vote, titled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — is “partisan and extreme.”

Jeffries zeroed in on the timing of the continuing resolution, arguing that a shorter stopgap would be better so Congress can hash out funding for fiscal 2025 by the end of this calendar year.

“In order to avert a GOP-driven government shutdown that will hurt everyday Americans, Congress must pass a short-term continuing resolution that will permit us to complete the appropriations process during this calendar year and is free of partisan policy changes inspired by Trump’s Project 2025,” Jeffries said. “There is no other viable path forward that protects the health, safety and economic well-being of hardworking American taxpayers.”

Jeffries is the latest Democrat to hammer away at Johnson’s plan to fund the government, following Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young.

Democrats have argued that the SAVE Act is unnecessary because non-U.S. citizens are already barred from voting in U.S. elections. They have also pushed for a shorter continuing resolution (CR) so funding could be dealt with before a new administration enters Washington in January.

Johnson and Republicans, however, have made election integrity a key part of their platform this year, and want to keep the matter front-and-center ahead of November. Trump helped Johnson unveil the SAVE Act earlier this year.

House Republicans are also pushing for a longer stopgap to give former President Trump an opportunity to influence government funding if he is elected to another term.

While Jeffries’s opposition to Johnson’s plan did not come as a surprise, his formal rejection increases pressure on the Speaker as he looks to push the CR-plus-SAVE Act through the chamber with his razor-thin majority.

Republicans can only afford to lose four of their own members if all Democrats vote “no.” At least two GOP lawmakers — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) — have already come out against the legislation, and other Republicans have expressed skepticism about his strategy.

It remains unclear, however, if Democrats will be completely united in opposing the government funding package. Five House Democrats — Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — voted for the SAVE Act when it came to the floor as a standalone bill in July, and they have not said if they plan to vote for the CR-plus-SAVE Act legislation.

The quintet of lawmakers, most of whom are running in competitive races in November, have come under pressure from Republicans to support the SAVE Act again, this time when it is attached to the continuing resolution.

Even if the CR-plus-SAVE Act does narrowly clear the House, it will not move in the Democratic-controlled Senate. In a letter to colleagues on Sunday, Schumer said, “We will not let poison pills or Republican extremism put funding for critical programs at risk.” Passing the package through the House, however, could help Johnson enter negotiations with Senate Democrats in a stronger position.