The bill will start in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will move the bill under “suspension of the rules.” Johnson repeatedly has used suspension of the rules — which requires two-thirds support but bypasses procedural opposition from conservatives — to advance legislation lacking broad Republican support. Suspension of the rules also enables Johnson to bypass a requirement that Congress receive at least 72 hours to review legislation before voting on it.
Johnson touted minimal (at best) conservative wins to a skeptical Republican Conference Wednesday morning — before the text of the deal was released — but conservatives were undeterred. If Congress does not pass the spending bill, a partial government shutdown will commence Saturday morning after midnight, although the effects of a shutdown will not truly be seen until Monday. Johnson visited a weekly House Freedom Caucus meeting Tuesday night to make a personal appeal. On Monday, the conservative group led more than 40 Republicans in a letter to the House Republican Conference urging members to use the power of the purse to address the border crisis. Negotiations between Congress and the White House had been hung up over the border provisions in the six-bill minibus. Ultimately, Johnson consented to the White House’s request to prevent a continuing resolution in return for a few token win