House Republicans privately worry about political fallout of government shutdown
'If we shut down, we lose,' House Republican says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Some House Republicans are already privately worrying about how a partial government shutdown would affect their electoral chances in November.
"If we shut down, we lose," one lawmaker told Fox News Digital.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled his plan to avoid a partial shutdown in a private call with House GOP lawmakers on Wednesday morning, four sources told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It involves a six-month extension of fiscal 2024's federal funding levels known as a "continuing resolution" (CR) – to buy House and Senate negotiators more time to hash out next year's spending priorities – and would be linked to a bill adding a proof of citizenship requirement to the voter registration process.
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House Republican leaders are pushing for a plan to avoid a government shutdown that's tied to a Trump-backed elections bill. (Getty Images)
But with both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the White House publicly opposing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, it's highly likely Johnson's plan would be dead on arrival if it passed the House.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"My problem isn't with the policy, which I support. My problem isn't with the messaging, which I think is strong. My problem is that I just don't think Chuck Schumer is going to agree to it," a second House Republican said of their concerns about the plan.
If the Senate and House don't agree on a way forward by Oct. 1, the country could be wracked by a partial government shutdown roughly a month before Election Day.
Past government shutdowns like those seen under the Obama and Trump administrations in 2013 and 2019, respectively, have traditionally seen Americans blame the GOP.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"In general, the voters seem to have a strong bias for blaming Republicans for shutdowns, which is understandable," the second Republican continued.
"We often have the more combative rhetoric leading up to a shutdown. We often are the ones who are most quick to claim that a shutdown isn't a real problem. And so I think we kind of telegraph to voters that we're OK with that. I think that makes it a little easier for the Democrats to try to stick us with [it]."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They added at the end of their explanation, "But it takes two to tango, and I don't think what we're asking for is too much."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is opposed to the elections bill the House GOP is pushing. (Reuters/Cheney Orr)
Meanwhile, two sources familiar with the Tuesday House GOP call said questions were raised about what Johnson's next step would be if the Senate sent back a "clean" CR with no attachments, and concerns were aired about how a possible shutdown would affect vulnerable Republicans.
"The Republicans have the majority today because we won seats in California and [other blue states]. Those seem to be members who'd be most disadvantaged by a shutdown in the four weeks before an election," the second GOP lawmaker said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye said a possible shutdown could have less of an impact given it's a presidential election year, but he conceded "that's a real risk to take."
"Republicans usually get blamed for shutdowns, and that could play into Harris' ‘Trump-as-chaos’ argument," Heye said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added, however, "that's not a bet I'd make. Especially when the speaker has offered a path to avoid this."
Other Republicans dismissed fears of political blowback in the event of a government shutdown.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who is not committed or opposed to Johnson's plan, told Fox News Digital this week, "The legacy media makes these shutdowns worse than they are. … Nobody loses their house, nobody loses a dime. They all get made whole."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican presidential nominee former President Trump has called on House Republicans to leverage a shutdown. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
A partial government shutdown would see some non-emergency federal services halted and potentially thousands of government employees furloughed.
Any federal payments paused during a shutdown are retroactively made to their recipients, however.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of the architects of the SAVE Act, would not say whether he'd want a shutdown if the Johnson plan failed to pass.
"I’m not going to play the shutdown game … the press wants to make it about a shutdown. Democrats want to make this about a shutdown," Roy said. "We’re offering to fund the government – all manners of sin, by the way, in that government…we’re willing to do that, but these guys need to make sure our elections are secure."
"If [Democrats] want to shut the government down, that’s on them."