Johnson to address Senate Republicans amid escalating tensions
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune during a news conference on Oct. 3, 2025. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will seek to heal growing friction with his Senate counterparts in remarks emphasizing unity during Senate Republicans' weekly lunch Tuesday, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: House and Senate Republicans have spent months clashing over virtually every major priority, despite their control of Congress and the White House.
- The disputes have ranged from ICE and Border Patrol funding, to the SAVE Act and a long-term extension of FISA.
- Johnson is expected to emphasize the need for open lines of communication as Republicans gear up for reconciliation packages 2.0 and 3.0.
- It will mark Johnson's first appearance at a Senate GOP lunch this year.
The big picture: House conservatives increasingly view the Senate as the main obstacle, while Senate Republicans deride what they characterize as unrealistic demands from House members.
- The dynamic has fueled repeated standoffs among congressional Republicans.
- "I hate the Senate," Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) told Axios late last month amid FISA disagreements. "There are like two and a half good senators."
Catch up quick: The House passed the Senate's DHS funding legislation just before they left for recess, a bill Johnson had previously called a "joke."
- House conservatives revolted over the Senate's two-track strategy, which funded DHS while postponing additional ICE and Border Patrol money to reconciliation.
- Several House Republicans privately and publicly said the move deepened mistrust of Senate Republicans.
- Johnson and Thune openly clashed over the strategy last month after Johnson said he wanted to make changes.
What's next: Republicans now face a high-stakes push to pass a second reconciliation package with border funding by President Trump's self-imposed June 1 deadline.
- Last week, Senate Republicans moved to include $1 billion in security funding for Trump's ballroom but the move has already hit resistance among some moderates.
- It will be a politically tricky vote that Democrats are eager to frame as an affordability contrast.
Another flashpoint: Republicans still have no clear path to a long-term Section 702 FISA extension.
- Congress has already approved two short-term extensions of the warrantless surveillance program without resolving major disputes.
- The House passed a three-year extension paired with a ban on a Federal Reserve-backed digital currency, which Senate Republicans oppose.
- Conservatives are continuing to push for warrant requirements and insist the crypto provision remain attached.
And there's the SAVE Act: House Republicans have blasted Senate Republicans for months for refusing to get rid of the filibuster to advance the GOP's signature election bill.
