House Republicans are refusing to pass a Department of Homeland Security funding bill approved by the Senate early Friday morning, complaining that the Senate jammed them with legislation that doesn't include money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are not gonna eat the crap sandwich the Senate sent us,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans on Friday, according to MS Now.
Instead, multiple reports said that Johnson wants the House to vote on a 60-day stopgap DHS funding measure that also includes ICE and Customs and Border Protection funding, even though it has less than 0% chance of passing the Senate and thus will prolong the amount of time Transportation Security Administration workers and other DHS employees go unpaid.
And that means the chaos at airports, in which travelers are suffering in hours-long security lines due to TSA staff shortages and call-outs, will continue.
Johnson's strategy takes the side of the MAGA wing of the House GOP—most of whom sit in safe districts and are not at risk of losing reelection. Those MAGA Republicans are revolting against the Senate bill because they want ICE and CBP to be funded at all costs.
Meanwhile, vulnerable Republicans—who fear electoral blowback if they are responsible for the chaos at airports across the country—are being hung out to dry. And they are apparently furious with Johnson's tactic, saying that the speaker needs to just take yes for an answer and pass the Senate bill.
“Who thinks the Senate is going to pass this?” Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection in November, asked rhetorically on a GOP conference call on Friday. She said she has "tremendous concerns” with Johnson's strategy, MS Now reported.
Reps. Carlos Gimenez of Florida and Tom Barrett of Michigan also said that Johnson's plan would blow back on Republicans.
Gimenez warned that blocking the Senate bill means House Republicans would “end up owning this shutdown," while Barrett said, “We are going to suffer the blame," according to MS Now.
GOP strategists are also warning Johnson about how stupid his strategy is.
“If they block this, Republicans in the House now are going to be the ones who own the blame for TSA workers and the delays at the airports,” former Bush administration liar in chief Ari Fleischer told Fox News.
And one Fox News reporter even asked Johnson why he is going to prolong travelers’ pain by not passing the Senate bill that’s before him.
“You and [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune are not on the same page. You came out and criticized Democrats, he was the engineer behind this. And are you not extending the shutdown? If you accepted what the Senate passed, this could end tonight and the TSA lines would shrink,” Fox News’ Chad Pergram asked Johnson at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
And Johnson’s reply?
He blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who doesn’t control which legislation comes to the Senate floor.
Even Senate Republicans are begging Johnson to stop being a moron and just pass the bill they sent to the House chamber.
“Given the staunch opposition from Senate Democrats, the clearest path to ending this harmful shutdown is for the House to adopt what the Senate just overwhelmingly approved," an unnamed Senate Republican aide told HuffPost's Igor Bobic.
Related | Democrats win funding battle over ICE
Never underestimate Johnson's proclivity to do the dumbest possible thing. Even President Donald Trump understands it’s a bad look to let the DHS shutdown drag on needlessly, so he signed an executive order on Friday directing that TSA agents get paid.
But if you find yourself standing in a long airport security line this spring break, just know you have Johnson and the House GOP to thank.
Emily Singer March 27, 2026 at 11:30PM From Daily Kos
0 Comments