WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month is expected to fail Wednesday as an unusual alliance of conservative rebels and defense hawks vowed to kill the package.

Johnson followed Donald Trump’s lead and has tied a six-month funding bill to the SAVE Act, which would overhaul election laws to require voters to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. But the expected rejection of the package will force Johnson, the Louisiana Republican, to go back to the drawing board and leave him with less than three weeks to keep the government running.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for a “clean” funding bill that would keep the government running until after the December election.

The government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. on October 1 unless Republicans and Democrats agree on an extension of funding.

Because of their tiny majority, House Republicans can afford only four defections if all members vote. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., was hospitalized last night after collapsing at an event. At least seven other Republicans have publicly stated they will vote against a stopgap measure known as a “continuing resolution,” or “CR,” and many others have said they may join them.

These GOP defectors include Reps. Cory Mills of Florida, Jim Banks of Indiana, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Tim Burchett of Tennessee.

“I’ve always voted against CRs. I think it’s terrible legislation,” Burchett said in an interview. “And the biggest threat to this country is fiscal irresponsibility. We’re falling into the fiscal abyss and I think every time we do that, we’re just pushing the problem further.”

Mills, a fiscal conservative and military veteran who sits on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was concerned about the rising national debt, but also that a CR through March would result in a freeze in Pentagon funding at a time when it would need to be increased. (CRs, by definition, freeze funding for the entire federal government at existing levels.)

“This CR would weaken our defense capabilities and the readiness of our military just as global threats are rapidly evolving. It would prevent us from responding effectively to hostile nations like China, hamper innovation, and delay modernization,” Mills said in a statement before the vote. “Six months is a long time in politics, but it is an eternity in geopolitics, where rapid response is critical to counter foreign adversaries that could harm U.S. interests.”

He added that he voted for the SAVE Act earlier this year and continues to support it.

“I am a resounding NO to bankruptcy of the nation and a YES to election integrity,” Mills said.

Trump insisted that any government funding must be tied to the SAVE Act, writing on his social media page on Tuesday: “Unless Republicans in the House and Senate receive absolute assurances on election security, THEY SHOULD NOT ADVANCE A CONTINUING BUDGET RESOLUTION. … GET IT DONE!!!”

What happens next is unclear. Neither party wants to shut down the government 54 days before the November 5 election, and MPs – especially those facing a difficult election – can’t wait to get back on the campaign trail.