House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was panned by Democrats on Wednesday for appearing to cave to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and agreeing to end a weekslong Department of Homeland Security shutdown that omits funding for immigration enforcement.
Johnson is scrapping the 60-day stopgap bill passed by the House, which included more money for immigration agencies, and will instead try to pass a bipartisan Senate deal that cleared the upper chamber and excludes immigration funding, according to a House leadership aide. The decision marks a reversal from his position just days earlier.
“House Republicans caved,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who helped strike the deal with Thune last week, wrote in a post on X.
There is no timeline yet for when the House may pass the measure. Congress is in the midst of a two-week Easter recess and is not scheduled to return until the week of April 13.
Johnson’s reversal, announced Wednesday, came after House Republicans and President Donald Trump blasted Thune’s approach to ending the partial shutdown that began Feb. 14. But in the days since, more conversations within the party have offered leaders reassurance that the Republican-controlled Congress can move quickly to fund immigration enforcement through a party-line process known as reconciliation that can bypass a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. Lawmakers will simultaneously work on next fiscal year’s funding for the rest of the federal government that lapses Oct. 1 and will require bipartisan support.
“In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited,” Johnson and Thune said in a joint statement. “In return, Democrats will once again demonstrate to the American people their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in America.”
Schumer said in a statement that Democrats “never wavered” in their demands for immigration enforcement restrictions in exchange for funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Customs and Border Protection. ICE has been operating on money from Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax law that provides funding through 2029.
“We were united, held the line, and refused to let Republican chaos win,” Schumer said.
But within minutes of announcing the deal, Republican opposition raised questions about how fast — if ever — Johnson might be able to land the legislation on the president’s desk to end a shutdown that has wreaked havoc on airports with security delays from unpaid Transportation Security Administration officers.
Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) posted that if Republicans exclude ICE and CBP, “they’re handing our border and ICE agents straight to the radicals who will defund and dismantle them every chance they get.”
“It’s more swamp crap leaving ICE & CBP isolated based on a promise,” a House Republican told the Washington Examiner, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
HOUSE PASSES EIGHT-WEEK DHS DEAL TO PUNT SHUTDOWN BACK TO SENATE
Another House Republican warned they and other members may rebel unless Johnson seeks input from the GOP conference.
“I, for one — and I’m sure most of the members — haven’t heard of any deal, and without input from members, there is no deal,” they said.
Lauren Green contributed to this report.