Washington — The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a measure to keep the government funded, less than two weeks before a potential government shutdown. But the measure, coupled with what Democrats see as a poison pill for noncitizen voting, is facing opposition in the House. And even among Republicans, support is likely to be low.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Tuesday that the House move forward with the vote, after to delay it Days earlier, he had to fight against opposition from members of his own party. With a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, only a handful of Republicans can defeat a partisan bill. And the opening blow by Republicans in the House of Representatives in the fight for funding has drawn plenty of opponents.

The preliminary budget authorization would fund the government through March 28. But it includes a measure to combat the practice of illegal voting that Democrats say is hopeless. The bill, known as the SAVE Act, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. And although current law allows only U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections, the House of Representatives passed the measure earlier this year.

While the election bill is a dead end for Democrats, it is being touted as a stimulus for conservatives in the House who often oppose stopgap measures to keep the government funded. Whether it will be enough to keep the recalcitrant group in check remains to be seen.

The strategy also faces resistance from defense hawks, who have expressed concern about the impact of a six-month extension on defense spending. But Republican leadership in the House has argued for a longer timeline that could give them more leverage in a funding battle should Donald Trump return to the White House next year.

Opposition from several quarters makes passing the bill in the House of Representatives an uphill battle. But Johnson has not yet outlined an alternative, telling reporters on Tuesday that he was not having “alternative discussions” despite the Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government.

“That’s the game,” Johnson said. “It’s important legislation and I’m going to work around the clock to get it passed.”

Senate Republicans have relied on the House of Representatives. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that they would have to “wait and see what the House sends us first.” He stressed, however, that there should not be a government shutdown.

“It would be politically foolish of us to do this so close to the election, because the blame would certainly be placed on us,” McConnell said.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have sharply criticized the speaker for his lengthy opening maneuvers. Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the highest-ranking Democratic budget official in the Senate, said on Tuesday that it was “time for Speaker Johnson to take a hard look in the mirror.”

“He’s proposing a bill that, first of all, he can’t even get through the House, and second of all, he has a zero percent chance of getting through here in the Senate,” Murray said, arguing that the approach would “leave countless programs, including our military, in limbo for half a year” and that it also contains a “massive poison pill” that is the definition of a non-starter.

Murray accused Johnson of taking an “extremely partisan position” with the plan and of pandering to the fringe of his party. She said she had a message for the speaker.

“Right in front of you is a way out that you’ve taken before and that you should know by now actually works – bipartisanship,” Murray said. “It’s actually quite simple.”