Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview Tuesday morning he expects House Republicans “are going to pass” a bill to fund the government later in the day, ahead of the looming March 14 deadline to avoid a shutdown.
His comments came as Vice President JD Vance is attending the House GOP Conference’s weekly meeting to rally members ahead of the big vote, which would keep federal operations afloat through the end of the fiscal year.
Johnson predicted there would be “maybe just one” GOP defection on this bill, appearing to reference Rep. Thomas Massie. President Donald Trump has called for a primary challenge against Massie over the Kentucky Republican’s opposition to the funding plan, which Trump is pressuring House Republicans to support.
Johnson needs virtually all Republicans to vote yes on the bill, given his razor-thin majority and House Democrats lining up against the plan. Republican Reps. Kat Cammack of Florida and Tim Burchett of Tennessee both said they were still undecided as they walked into the meeting.
Vance is expected “to talk about the importance” of passing the GOP funding bill in his remarks to the conference this morning, Johnson added.
Vance didn’t answer questions as he entered the meeting.
