Trump and Senate GOP Push Johnson on DHS Funding as Shutdown Drags Into Day 75

Clear Facts

• The Department of Homeland Security shutdown has now lasted 75 days, a historic record
• House Speaker Mike Johnson is proposing modifications to the Senate’s DHS funding bill instead of passing it as-is
• President Trump and the White House are pressuring the House to immediately pass DHS funding following a recent assassination attempt
• The Senate bill would fund most of DHS but excludes ICE and CBP, the primary immigration enforcement agencies

Congressional Republicans who entered the Department of Homeland Security shutdown with a unified front now find themselves increasingly divided over the path forward after 75 days without full funding.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is floating proposed changes to the Senate’s DHS funding bill, which he has declined to bring to the House floor for more than a month despite pressure from Senate colleagues and the White House.

The urgency intensified Saturday when the Secret Service thwarted a gunman who allegedly planned to storm a ballroom and assassinate President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet. The Secret Service operates under the DHS umbrella and is currently running without full-year funding.

Following the assassination scare, President Trump called for swift action on both DHS funding and the budget reconciliation process.

Johnson’s new strategy involves modifying the Senate bill, which he says contains “problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted.”

“We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers,” Johnson told reporters Monday.

“It makes sure that we’re not going to orphan two of the primary agencies of DHS. We have to make sure that immigration law is enforced and that the border is safe and secure. Democrats don’t want to have any part of that, so unfortunately, we have to do that on our own.”

The White House responded with a direct memo to House Republicans, obtained by Fox News Digital, demanding passage of the Senate bill without modifications and warning that remaining DHS funds would soon be exhausted.

“It is imperative that Congress immediately fund DHS and its critical operations to protect the homeland,” the memo stated.

Republicans are pursuing a two-track approach: the Senate bill for most DHS operations and a separate budget reconciliation bill specifically for immigration enforcement funding.

Johnson’s concerns reflect the position of many House Republicans who object to the Senate bill because it zeroes out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — the two agencies responsible for border security and interior enforcement.

Senate Republicans have grown frustrated with their House counterparts, who continue holding the bill while promising modifications that could require the measure to return to the Senate for reconciliation.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune noted that nearly 30 days had passed since he and Johnson issued a joint statement supporting the Senate funding bill.

“I guess my question is, what was the alternative? And that’s what I said to them at the time, and you tell me, give me a better option, ’cause I’m open to ideas. But I don’t think anybody had one, and we had a bunch of agencies that weren’t being funded.”

Congressional Democrats have criticized Johnson for delaying the vote, though Republicans point out the stalemate wouldn’t exist if Democrats had agreed to a full-year spending bill for the department in the first place.

The fundamental disagreement centers on border security and immigration enforcement — core national security priorities that Democrats have consistently opposed funding at the levels Republicans deem necessary for protecting American communities.

Senate Democrats, who voted unanimously alongside Republicans twice on the funding deal, have signaled a possible return to the month-long standoff that previously paralyzed the upper chamber.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the need for modifications as a delaying tactic.

“They’re just stuck so they come up with — we need some technical changes. Hold up national security for technical changes? It’s absurd.”

The impasse highlights the challenge facing Republican leadership as they balance the need for immediate DHS funding with their commitment to ensuring robust border security and immigration enforcement — a promise central to the conservative governing agenda.

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