Republican leaders in the House are facing internal conflict after a failure to coalesce around a strategy to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month. Speaker Mike Johnson’s attempt to push through a six-month funding extension, paired with a voter proof of citizenship bill, was derailed by opposition from multiple factions within the GOP. The breakdown has led to a blame game among Republicans, revealing the growing rift within the party.

Johnson’s strategy, which was supported by the House Freedom Caucus, tied the funding extension to a conservative proposal: the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote. The tactic was designed to strengthen the Republicans' negotiating position in the Democratic-controlled Senate. However, a scheduled vote on the bill was pulled this week after Johnson failed to secure enough support within his own party.

Republicans, frustrated by the ongoing intraparty fighting, are now pointing fingers. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, voiced his disappointment, saying, "It’s disappointing that we cannot get the majority of our own members to vote for a bill that they all support."

Conservative Hard-Liners vs. Moderates

The internal division stems from multiple corners of the GOP. Some fiscal hawks opposed the funding extension altogether, while defense hawks raised concerns about the bill’s impact on the Pentagon. Meanwhile, moderates expressed worries about the potential political fallout of a government shutdown, particularly with the election approaching.

A House Republican who chose to remain anonymous blamed hard-line conservatives for derailing the plan, saying, “Once again, the hard-liners swing and miss. They get nothing because they don’t actually know how to negotiate.”

In response, a senior GOP aide defended the hard-liners, pointing the finger at moderates: “Moderates are like Democrats; they always want to blame conservatives, but this time it’s defense hawks who decided to grow a spine 30 days before the election.”

The failure of Johnson’s funding plan has left Republicans scrambling to figure out their next move, as the threat of a government shutdown looms large. Supporters of the funding bill were hoping that passing it, along with the SAVE Act, would give the GOP more leverage in upcoming negotiations with Senate Democrats. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a lead sponsor of the SAVE Act, expressed frustration at opposition from some of his fellow conservatives. "They’re not actually giving the Speaker the ability to go do what we’re asking,” he said.

Other conservatives, such as Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), opposed Johnson’s plan due to concerns about the ballooning deficit. “We’re drawing ourselves into a complete economic collapse that we can’t come back from,” Mills said.

This latest failure is part of a larger pattern of GOP infighting over funding bills. Last year, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faced a similar situation when he attempted to attach a GOP border bill to a continuing resolution. That plan also failed due to internal opposition, forcing McCarthy to pass a “clean” stopgap with the help of Democrats.

Despite the ongoing internal strife, some Republicans remain unfazed, seeing it as par for the course in the current Congress. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) summed up the situation: "This sort of dynamic has happened enough times...the membership has just kind of started to accept it as situation normal."

As the GOP grapples with its internal divisions, the clock is ticking on finding a solution to avert a government shutdown, with the stakes higher than ever for the party and the country.