Shortly before tonight's failed vote on the spending stopgap, House Speaker Mike Johnson told senior Republicans in a private meeting that ... surprise ... he had a Plan B — but wouldn't tell them what it was.

• After 14 Republicans voted against his Plan A, Johnson said he'll go back to the playbook.

Why it matters: Tonight was a baffling setback for the speaker. He said he wanted to put people on the record on the SAVE Act. Then he lost ground.

• 216 Republicans voted for the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, in July. Just 199 voted for it today as part of the spending stopgap.
• Five Democrats voted for SAVE in July. Three were still on board tonight.

📉 "I'm disappointed," Johnson said after the vote.

• "I know this was the right thing to do and I think the American people are going to let a lot of the folks that voted 'no' tonight hear their concerns about it."
• The government will shut down on Oct. 1 unless there's a new budget or spending stopgap. Johnson has repeatedly said the government won't shut down, but declined to share his plan to avoid one.

What we're hearing: One GOP lawmaker accused Johnson tonight of being "cryptic" and "insular" on government funding plans, arguing "you talk to members and he's not where the conference is."

👀 Deja vu: Just like last week, former President Trump twisted the screws at the last minute.

• "If Republicans don't get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form," he posted earlier today.

The bottom line: After Johnson's 10 days of futility, look for the Senate's patience to run out fast.

• "We now have only a few days left for House Republicans to come to their senses, come to the table, and come together with Democrats to craft a bipartisan agreement," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said after the vote.
• "I think we've got to give them a little bit of time to hopefully originate it over there and send something here," Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told us earlier today.

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— Juliegrace Brufke and Stef Kight

One space with bipartisan optimism after tonight's fiasco is Secret Service cash.

• Why it matters: Both party leaders in the Senate are open to including more money for the agency in light of the demands for more protection to be granted to Trump.

Republicans are more comfortable with what's called an "anomaly" in the stop-gap measure.

• This would allow the agency to access up to 100% of its current $1.3 billion protection budget over the spending stopgap period — likely a couple of months, according to a source close to the negotiations.
• That's hundreds of millions of dollars more than the agency would be able to use otherwise and would get them well through the election.

Some Democrats want to give the agency extra cash through a separate supplemental package rather than messing with the spending stopgap.

• But that opens them up to other agencies asking for their own plus-ups.

The bottom line: Senate Democrats hope "Plan B" consists of a bipartisan path forward, with all four congressional leaders hashing out a plan to get a three-month stopgap measure through both chambers by the end of next week.

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— Stef Kight and Stephen Neukam

In battleground Michigan, Schumer's super PAC will launch a new ad
this week focused on abortion, we've exclusively learned.

• The 30-second spot hitting Detroit airwaves tomorrow is part of a $17+ million fall ad blitz in the state from Schumer's Senate Majority PAC.
• It focuses on a woman who needed an abortion to save her life and dings former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan GOP Senate candidate, for his past support of restrictions on abortion.

The big picture: Schumer is trying to get Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Elissa Slotkin across the finish line in Michigan.

• Slotkin leads Rogers by 5 points in a poll from Quinnipiac University released yesterday.

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— Stephen Neukam

Bill Clinton was president the last time the four corners of congressional leadership managed to do one of their most important jobs on time — fully fund every federal appropriations bill by the Oct. 1 deadline.

❄️ But it gets worse: Congress is on track to pass zero of the 12 appropriations bills on time for the sixth year in a row.

• The House has passed five of its funding bills for FY2025, Congressional Research Service data shows. That amounts to 70% of federal funding for the year, a spokesperson for the speaker noted.
• Senate committees have passed their versions of every appropriations bill except for Homeland Security. None have received a vote on the floor.

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— Stef Kight