House GOP doubts grow as Johnson digs in on funding fight: 'Playing with a government shutdown'

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is plowing full steam ahead on his plan to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the month, despite growing uneasiness within the House GOP.

Johnson’s plan involves a six-month extension of the current fiscal year’s government funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR), and combining it with a GOP bill to require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

As of Tuesday afternoon, House Republican leaders are expected to hold a vote on the measure Wednesday – despite at least half a dozen GOP lawmakers already expected to vote against it.

"We're not looking at any other alternative or any other step. I think it's the right thing to do," Johnson told reporters about pairing the CR with the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

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It passed a key test vote on Tuesday to allow for debate and then a vote on final passage of the measure. It passed 209 to 206 with Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., in opposition; the latter is one of six Republicans publicly against it.

Multiple GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital that Johnson made similar comments during a closed-door meeting earlier that morning – the House Republican Conference’s first time in one room since returning from their six-week recess.

Some, like Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., applauded his resolve.

"He is ready to fight," Norman, who said he normally opposes CRs, told Fox News Digital. "Certain things I don’t like, but overall, it’s a good thing."

But House Republicans granted anonymity to speak freely said they saw little point in taking a vote on a measure that, if it passed their chamber, is