‘A Joke’: Johnson Dismisses Senate-Passed DHS Funding Bill as Shutdown Continues with No End in Sight

House Republicans rejected a Senate-passed measure to restore most funding for the Department of Homeland Security on Friday, with House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissing the proposed bill as a “joke.”

While the Senate bill withheld money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deportation operations thanks to Democrats’ demands, Johnson said the House would move toward advancing a measure that would instead fully fund the agency for 60 days “as soon as possible.”

“This gambit that was done last night is a joke. I’m quite convinced that it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill,” Johnson said. “We’re not doing that.”

“I spoke to the President a few moments ago. He understands exactly what we’re doing,” the speaker added.

The battle over ICE funding could extend a partial shutdown of the agency that has snarled airport security operations and left federal workers without paychecks for more than a month, as the Senate left D.C. for a two-week recess after passing its DHS bill. 

Several House Republicans were publicly outspoken against the Senate-backed bill. Representative Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.) accused Republican senators of caving to pressure from Democrats.

“I mean, they got a vacation coming, they’re ready to get the heck out of town. They’re not handling any legislation,” he said of the Senate. “If this is just some trickery to get them home for a dad-gum vacation, then, no, I’d say let’s stay here and work.”

Meanwhile, Representative Ralph Norman (R., S.C.) said the Senate bill is “irresponsible.” Voter identification provisions and parts of ICE funding “will have to be in” any reasonable bill, he said.

But Senate Republicans will need the support of a handful of Democrats to move any funding legislation through the chamber; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said that a bill that funds ICE and Customs and Border Protection would be “dead on arrival” in the Senate.

“We’ve been clear from day one: Democrats will fund critical homeland security functions — but we will not give a blank check to Trump’s lawless and deadly immigration militia without reforms,” Schumer said. “A 60-day CR that locks in the status quo is dead on arrival in the Senate, and Republicans know it.”

The situation is a major test of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s leadership, as he works to navigate pressure from Republicans in both the House and Senate who are frustrated that his proposal didn’t including funding for ICE and CBP, and who want him to prioritize the SAVE America Act, a proposed law that would require “documentary proof of United States citizenship” to register to vote in federal elections.

As the intraparty fight plays out, President Trump could take some of the pressure off Republicans’ shoulders with the executive order he signed on Friday to pay Transportation Security Administration agents to help ease delays at airports.

“Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will do!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Therefore, I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.”

However, other agencies within DHS are still without pay, including the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Patrol.

Thune acknowledged such an order would “take the immediate pressure off” but it only a “short-term solution.”

“The Democrats have made it very clear that they have no interest in funding any of the law enforcement functions [of DHS],” Thune told reporters Thursday night.