New US House Republican speaker faces early test on government funding

Newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) takes his oath of office after he was elected to be the new Speaker at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabth Frantz/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Republican Mike Johnson, the untried speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, faces an early test of how well he can unify his splintered majority as he tries to avoid a partial government shutdown a little more than two weeks away.
The fourth-term lawmaker from Louisiana will try to pass three 2024 spending bills, which could help placate hardline conservatives, before turning to a stopgap measure to keep federal agencies funded past Nov. 17.
But tensions between party hardliners and centrists, which led to the historic ouster of Johnson’s predecessor early this month, are threatening to undermine the bills which would fund the legislative branch; transportation, housing and urban development; and the Department of the Interior and the environment through Sept. 30.