Speaker Johnson: FY24 Spending Agreement Remains In Place

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has announced on the floor of the House of Representatives that he intends to honour the bipartisan topline spending agreement for Fiscal Year 2024 he announced with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) earlier this week.

• Johnson: "Have achieved strong top-line agreement on appropriations... top-line agreement remains, look forward to robust appropriations process."
• Johnson's comment come in the wake of a growing conservative rebellion over a perceived lack of spending cuts in the agreement.
• Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus emerged from a meeting with Johnson yesterday expressing optimism that Johnson will abandon the agreement. Johnson later he had made any such promise.
• Johnson's announcement does not nullify the risk of the government shutdown on January 20 as there is still disagreement on the timeframe for a short-term funding measure (Continuing Resolution), and there remains a non-negligible risk that conservatives could move to oust Johnson as they did former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
• ·Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said on Tuesday the possibility of ousting Johnson remains, "on the table."
• Johnson reportedly told conservatives that his short-term funding preference was to pass a clean year-long CR, but conceded that he likely lacked the votes to get it across the line. If Johnson pursues a year-long CR, it would be panned by Democrats and moderate Republicans and significantly increase the risk of a shutdown.
• The Senate is preparing to begin voting on their CR on Tuesday. It would likely extend funding through mid-March.