Washington stares down the barrel of the first shutdown of 2024

Mike Johnson’s first big moment of 2024 is here.

With Congress under a 1 March deadline to reauthorise several major government programs, Washington is once again playing shutdown roulette. And all eyes are on the House of Representatives, where a two-vote GOP majority holds the chamber and Mr Johnson faces the constant threat of being ousted by his own colleagues.

On Friday, funding for a wide range of government programs under four major umbrellas will cease: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Energy and Water Development; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration. The immediate effects would not be devastating, though federal workers could see their paychecks suspended and many public-facing operations of government — like Veterans Affairs offices — would temporarily shutter.

In the past, some hardline conservatives including former President Donald Trump have supported the idea of shutting down the government, arguing that the costs are worth pressuring Democrats and even centrist Republicans into accepting concessions to the right.

The Speaker of the House assured reporters that the House was working to prevent this on Tuesday. But questions remain as to whether he will face a rebellion from conservatives in his caucus if he attempts to pass a clean spending bill before the deadline on Friday. There’s already been some grumbling about that, including from Rep Chip Roy who urged Republicans to “pick a fight and win it” in a lengthy Twitter thread.

That same resistance exists within the Senate GOP as well, though not to a degree that is likely to prevent a clean funding bill from passing the chamber in time.

With the House’s two-seat