Johnson, the Speaker, May Require Democratic Assistance to Pass Funding Agreement

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., likely will need to rely on House Democrats to pass a government funding deal, The Hill has reported.

That’s because conservatives in a closely divided House are angry about the package.

The irony in that development is that a similar scenario resulted in former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., being ousted from his position in October after he worked with Democrats to fund the government.

Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Sunday agreed on a $1.59 trillion spending deal, plus $69 billion in nondefense budget tweaks, setting up a race to pass bills that would appropriate the money before the government begins to shut down this month.

There’s a Jan. 19 deadline for the first set of bills to move through Congress and a Feb. 2 deadline for the remainder of them.

Johnson has said he will not pass another short-term continuing resolution, leaving open the possibility of a shutdown if Congress cannot meet the deadlines.

With his party holding a thin 220-113 majority, Johnson can’t afford much internal opposition without seeking help from Democrats.

House conservatives have already slammed the deal, and some have demanded concessions regarding the border policy — an issue that has been part of discussions around a supplemental spending bill to provide Ukraine and Israel with aid.

The House Freedom Caucus, consisting of roughly three dozen members, wrote in a post on X that the government funding deal was a “total failure.”

New Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, policy chair of the group, suggested on X that the GOP had lost some leverage by agreeing to a top-line spending level.