Hakeem Jeffries rejects GOP funding bill as ‘unserious and unacceptable’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calling it “unserious and unacceptable,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected on Monday a proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson that links continued government funding for six months with a measure to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The response frames the spending battle to come over the next weeks as lawmakers work to reach consensus on a short-term spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Lawmakers hope to avoid a shutdown just weeks before voters go to the polls.

Johnson is punting the final decisions on full-year spending into next year when a new president and Congress take over. He’s doing so at the urging of members within his conference who believe that Republicans will be in a better position next year to secure the funding and policy priorities they want.

But Jeffries said the appropriations process should be wrapped up before the end of the current calendar year, and the short-term measure should reflect that. It also needs to be free of “partisan policy changes,” Jeffries said.

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