House Republican leaders overcame a key procedural hurdle Wednesday evening, paving the way for floor consideration of the short-term stopgap funding measure they will need to pass with GOP votes later this week due to near-uniform Democratic objections.
The chamber adopted the rule for floor debate on the bill on a 216-210 party-line vote. For a while it looked like there might be trouble, however, as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., engaged in heated discussions on the floor with a group of lawmakers who’ve been vocal about beefing up member security resources.
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week, whose legacy would be honored under a separate resolution that the rule sets up a vote on, spurred intense negotiations on how much more money should be appropriated to help protect public officials.
GOP leaders agreed to a White House request for $58 million in added funding for executive branch and Supreme Court security, and tacked on another $30 million for Capitol Police arrangements with local law enforcement to protect members.
Republicans including Anna Paulina Luna, Randy Fine and Kat Cammack of Florida, as well as Florida Democrat Jared Moskowitz, were seen huddling with Johnson on the floor. House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., was also part of the talks, along with Tennessee Republicans Tim Burchett and Andy Ogles.
Several of those members and their offices have been threatened personally, including Luna, Moskowitz and Cammack. Burchett and Ogles have recently been involved in physical altercations with protesters. Moskowitz and Luna co-authored an amendment to the CR with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., to boost member security funds by $135 million, but it was rejected by the Rules Committee.
During the vote, Steil and his committee’s ranking Democrat, Joseph Morelle of New York, announced that with Johnson’s blessing they had agreed to double a $5,000 monthly allotment for lawmakers to spend on hiring private security and extend that pilot program through Nov. 21, for the duration of the CR.
Steil said the pilot program enhancement, plus the opportunity for more funding in the upcoming conference negotiations on the fiscal 2026 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, should be enough to resolve lingering concerns.
