House Speaker Mike Johnson Stands by Controversial Spending Deal Amid Opposition

Despite threats from the House Freedom Caucus, Johnson insists on the $1.59 trillion spending deal to avoid a government shutdown.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has announced that he will stand by the controversial spending deal of $1.59 trillion for Fiscal Year 2024, despite opposition from members of the House Freedom Caucus.
The deal, which aims to avoid a government shutdown, has been criticized as insufficiently conservative by the Freedom Caucus, some of whom have threatened to remove Johnson from office over the matter.
Johnson's decision to stick with the deal means he will likely need to rely on House Democrats to help keep the government open.
The federal government will partially shut down on Jan. 19 if a requisite spending bill isn’t signed into law.
Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the Speaker position after making a similar decision, leading to threats from some GOP hardliners against Johnson.