Democrat support critical for Johnson's plan to avoid shutdown amid growing GOP opposition
FOX NewsOCT 2023
US House Passes Stopgap Bill to Prevent Government Shutdown
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The Spin
Democratic narrative
As infighting within the House GOP conference intensifies even after the promotion of Speaker Mike Johnson, Democrats have had to save the day once again by rallying behind this Republican bill in a bid to prevent a disruptive government shutdown. If Johnson doesn't want to end up like his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, he must realize that he has to be thankful to his Democratic colleagues and negotiate with them.
Republican narrative
Though Speaker Mike Johnson has succeeded in his first big challenge, he simply can't rely on help from the Democrats. It's obvious that they will do nothing to help a Republican politically even if that move would be good for the country — and McCarthy is the latest proof of that. That said, Johnson is still in his honeymoon phase with his GOP colleagues and has strong conservative credentials.