Johnson faces major leadership test as GOP wars over government shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is facing his last critical leadership test of this year as congressional lawmakers grapple with a looming government shutdown deadline at the end of this month.

The House Republican Conference is at odds over how to proceed with funding the government in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. A growing contingent of GOP lawmakers are resigned to a short-term spending patch called a continuing resolution (CR) until December to give negotiators more time to work out next year’s federal spending.

Conservatives on Johnson’s right flank, however, want him to keep fighting for a six-month CR attached to a bill that would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process – which the Democrat-controlled White House and Senate have called a nonstarter.

Johnson was forced to delay a planned vote on that bill last week amid a wave of Republican defections from lawmakers who saw it as a "messaging" tactic without a sufficient plan to get the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act enacted.

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How he navigates the political quagmire could be pivotal for the Louisiana Republican in the House GOP’s December leadership decisions.

A majority of GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital saw little appetite for a coup – particularly so close to the election – but several did acknowledge that Johnson would face backlash if he fully acquiesced to Democrats on spending.

"If there’s an omnibus, I think he’ll likely get challenged for speaker," one GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital, noting the challenge would be significant.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom