Johnson bets on a take-it-or-leave-it six-bill package to dodge the shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to beat the January shutdown deadline by using a rule to merge the four remaining spending bills into a single six-title minibus, then forcing a Senate vote with a take-it-or-leave-it option, while giving Democrats a separate floor vote on Homeland Security funding. The approach has mixed support in the Senate and among Democrats, but Johnson argues the calendar gives Republicans leverage as they push the package through.