House Republican Leadership Is Letting MAGA Extremists Risk a Shutdown

House Republicans are expected to vote Wednesday on a government funding extension through March 2025 that includes a harmful poison pill, the SAVE Act, and allows key programs to expire – harming public health, farmworkers, and border security. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen and co-chair of the Clean Budget Coalition, released the following statement:

“After weeks of internal chaos, House Republicans are no closer to a funding extension that can pass both chambers and win approval from the White House. With each passing day, House Republicans are bringing us closer to a costly, disruptive, and painful government shutdown that nobody in either party wants, especially not weeks before a high-stakes election. This is no way to govern.

“Speaker Johnson is letting MAGA extremists call the shots and sabotage the CR with a culture war poison pill that cannot become law. The SAVE Act is the ultimate poison pill, a destructive piece of policy that pretends we have a problem of non-citizens voting in this nation. This premise is categorically untrue.

“A clean CR is the only way forward. That was true weeks ago, true today, and will still be true if Congress breaches the September 30th funding deadline. The only question is how long it will take for Speaker Johnson to stand up to the MAGA extremists in his ranks and join the rest of the country – including Senate Republicans – in support of a clean, bipartisan bill.”