But just hours before the scheduled vote, leaders pulled it from the floor.
“The whip is going to do the hard work and build consensus. We’re going to work through the weekend on that,” Johnson told reporters.
Johnson later clarified: “No vote today, because we’re in the consensus-building business here in Congress with small majorities.”
The Speaker had 24 hours earlier promised to bring the legislation to the floor, despite the mounting opposition.
Johnson’s move puts House GOP leadership back to square one: they now need to craft a conservative stopgap that could pass the House and, in turn, increase the party’s leverage in negotiations with Senate Democrats.