House Republican leadership is sick of getting rolled by the Senate, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rejecting the notion of bringing up the Senate-passed Department of Homeland Security funding bill and pushing instead for a 60-day continuing resolution for all of Homeland Security.
During a House Republican conference call on Friday, the Louisiana Republican laid out the plan to his members, which was met with mixed feedback from within his caucus.
Critics of the Senate bill, which passed at 2:20 a.m. Friday morning, argue Senate Republicans failed to secure a decent deal, with the upper chamber’s legislation excluding funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as Democrats call for reforms.
“We ain’t eating the Senate’s shit sandwich!” one source on the call told Sources Say News.
With Easter and Passover just around the corner, pressure has intensified in recent days for Congress to pass something, as frustrations have mounted across the country over hellishly long lines at airports. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have gone weeks without a paycheck, leading to hours-long waits at airports across the country.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told members on the call that President Trump is on board with Johnson’s play. The president made that clear Thursday, announcing on Truth Social he’d sign an executive order directing newly-minted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay Transportation Security Administration agents directly, providing some relief to travel concerns.
The Senate — which left Washington after passing its bill — is not expected to come back to pass any House-passed legislation.
“Given the staunch opposition from Senate Democrats, the clearest path to ending this harmful shutdown is for the House to adopt what the Senate just overwhelmingly approved,” one Senate Republican aide said.
But even some House Republicans are skeptical of Johnson’s countermove.
“Speaker wants to pass an 8-week continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security. Not take the Senate deal. Many members think this is a dumb plan,” one lawmaker told Sources Say News.
Another lawmaker argued, “Because the One Big Beautiful Bill already funded the departments, why are we not taking the Senate deal as a win?”
House Democrats don’t appear open to Johnson’s plan. A senior Democratic Appropriations aide flagged the holiday travel crunch as a looming headache and noted Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s (D-Conn.) discharge petition now has 207 signatures, speculating some moderate frontliners could buck party leadership and force a vote on the alternative.
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday evening, with leadership hoping to bring a bill to the floor on Saturday.
