Johnson calls out GOP Senate over "joke" of a DHS plan
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House Speaker Mike Johnson during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 27. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Sharp differences between House and Senate GOP leaders burst into the open this afternoon, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) two-step plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security and then ICE the first casualty.
Why it matters: The collapse was public — and painful. Blame flew freely, with House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump weighing in.
- "This gambit that was done last night is a joke," Johnson (R-La.) said.
- Johnson claimed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was the "engineer" of the plan, but his anger at the Senate — where not a single GOP lawmaker objected — was unmistakable.
- "I'm quite convinced that it can't be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill."
State of play: Johnson insisted that Trump backs his plan to pass an eight-week DHS funding bill and send it to an empty Senate, where most senators are already airborne.
- "I spoke to the President a few moments ago," Johnson said Friday. "He understands exactly what we're doing and why, and he supports it."
- Thune was spotted — and shamed — by a GOP House member as he strode through the airport.
- The speaker's claim was bolstered by Trump's actions, as the president followed through on his plan to pay TSA employees by shifting funds with an executive order.
- Trump later piled on, telling Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich, "You can't have a bill that's not going to fund — in my opinion, you can't have a bill that's not going to fund ICE."
Driving the news: Johnson would have faced major problems trying to pass the Senate deal. By contrast, he's unlikely to have trouble moving a short-term extension through the House.
- House Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) told Axios in a phone interview that the GOP conference will be united in its support for the CR.
- "The speaker had a call with all the members and addressed a lot of their issues, and everybody wants border security," McClain said.
- McClain also said she had not heard from Senate GOP leadership and found that surprising, though she had spoken to Trump on the phone twice Friday.
Zoom out: In the first year of Trump's second term, there have been only minor differences between Republicans in the House and Senate.
- Recall the one-bill vs. two-bill debate on reconciliation 1.0 (which Thune ultimately won).
- But over the past 13 months, Republicans have largely set aside ideological and institutional differences, overcoming razor-thin margins to advance Trump's agenda.
- Johnson insisted Friday that he and Thune are still on the same page.
Zoom in: There's always another path in Congress. Deals often die a thousand deaths before coming back to life.
- Even so, this DHS deal was supposed to be the easy part. The Senate expected the House to pass its plan and Trump to sign it.
- Both chambers were bracing for a tougher fight ahead over a second reconciliation bill — where they'll have to agree on funding, and offsets, for ICE and CBP.
