A public and bitter split erupted between House and Senate GOP leaders over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s two-step plan to fund DHS and ICE collapsed after House Speaker Mike Johnson declared it a “joke,” falsely claiming it was engineered by Democrats and asserting that Senate Republicans must not have read the bill. No Senate GOP senator objected to the plan.
Johnson pushed an alternative eight-week short-term funding extension (CR), insisting President Trump supports it. Trump’s subsequent executive action to fund TSA and his public criticism of the Senate plan appeared to back Johnson. The episode was humiliating for Thune, who was reportedly shamed by a House member in an airport.
Despite Johnson’s claim that he and Thune remain aligned, the Senate’s silence on the House’s preferred path highlights deep friction. House GOP leaders, including Conference Chair Lisa McClain, report unified support for Johnson’s CR and expressed surprise at the lack of outreach from Senate leadership.
This fight over what was supposed to be an “easy” funding bill is a significant crack in the usual GOP unity under Trump. It foreshadows a much tougher upcoming battle over a second reconciliation bill, where the chambers must agree on funding and offsets for ICE and CBP.
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