House of Representatives rejects bill to fund government linked to citizenship test

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a proposal by House Speaker Mike Johnson that would have tied temporary funding for the federal government to a mandate for states to require proof of citizenship when people register to vote.

It is not known what the next steps will be in obtaining such financing for the government.

Lawmakers have not finished work on the dozen appropriations bills that will fund federal agencies in the next fiscal year, so they will need to pass a stopgap measure to avoid a partial government shutdown when the fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

There were 205 votes in favor of the proposal and 220 against, 14 of them from Republicans.

Johnson will now likely try to push through a Plan B to avoid a partial government shutdown, although he was not ready to share details of such a proposal before the vote.

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