Mike Johnson's "hell week" collides with GOP infighting
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Speaker Mike Johnson at the swearing in ceremony for Rep. Analilia Mejia on April 20. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson's "hell week" is already veering off course, with GOP infighting derailing his packed agenda.
Why it matters: Another GOP revolt is colliding with imminent deadlines to prevent a key surveillance tool, as well as money to pay Department of Homeland Security workers, from lapsing.
- Johnson (R-La.) is trying to jam three contentious measures into one pre-recess week: A long-term extension of Section 702 of FISA, the farm bill, and the Senate-passed budget reconciliation package to fund ICE and Border Patrol.
- But his own Republicans are threatening to vote down the rule, setting up debate on all three of those bills, with conservatives still demanding changes.
State of play: The House is effectively frozen after GOP leaders failed to move the proposed rule out of committee Monday night, halting action on all major legislation this week.
- The Rules Committee could try again Tuesday, but a packed schedule — including a rare address from King Charles III — is squeezing time.
- Changes that GOP leaders made to FISA last week have not been enough to sway holdouts, who are still demanding that warrant requirements be attached to the bill.
- Leaving a GOP conference meeting Monday night, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told Axios he doesn't know what it will take to get him on board, adding that leaders should just "redo it."
The program is set to lapse Thursday night without an extension, and some members say another short-term patch may be needed.
- Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have both signaled that the Senate could move a FISA extension first in an effort to pressure the House into acting.
Johnson has also indicated he wants changes to the Senate-passed appropriations bill to fund DHS, pointing to "problematic language" that zeroes out funding for ICE and CBP.
- There's widespread resistance among House Republicans to moving a bill to fund the rest of DHS before getting ICE and CBP funding squared away through reconciliation.
- The hesitation stems from House Republicans' mistrust of their Senate counterparts: Members worry that if the House moves first on passing a DHS funding bill without ICE and CBP, the Senate could backtrack on funding those two agencies.
- So some House Republicans are insisting that reconciliation move first, even as DHS workers are set to miss a paycheck next week unless Congress passes a spending bill.
What they're saying: "There are very few things that garner the strong support of every member of our conference, that one was roundly rejected," House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told Axios Monday evening of passing the appropriations bill first.
- "It would be naive in this town to say, 'Trust us, vote to turn all of Homeland on except for ICE and CBP,'" Arrington added.
The bottom line: The resistance is creating an open clash with Thune and will only prolong the record 73-day DHS shutdown.
