House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would vote “as soon as possible” on its own plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after the Senate-approved legislation to fund most of the department — including the TSA — hit major hurdles in the House.
The Senate overnight passed a bill to reopen DHS that funds TSA but does not include funding for ICE or Customs and Border Protection. House Republicans rejected that offer, and an irate Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the Senate measure, calling it “detestable,” a “joke” and “unconscionable.”
“The bill, as amended, is passed,” Johnson said, then added, “I think it is detestable.”
Johnson said House Republicans will put forward a separate measure that does fund immigration enforcement — a provision Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already called “dead on arrival.” Johnson also complained that Democrats negotiated late and then left for the holiday, saying it was “unconscionable” to force a last-minute deal and expect the House to accept it.
The Senate bill left out ICE and CBP funding as a concession to Democrats after lawmakers demanded reforms following the killing of two Americans in Minneapolis. Johnson said House Republicans will pursue a bill that includes immigration enforcement funding.
Many senators have already left town and would need to return to Washington to approve any new House-passed bill, raising the possibility that the partial government shutdown and related airport disruptions will persist. Democrats blamed House Republicans for the stalemate.
“There’s a bipartisan bill that emerged from the Senate with uniform support, and it should be brought to the floor immediately so we can pay TSA agents, so we can end the chaos,” Democrats said.
President Trump signed an executive order to pay TSA officers; they are expected to receive paychecks as soon as Monday. The White House said the money to pay TSA workers will come from the president’s so‑called “big, beautiful bill.”
The House was expected to vote on the new DHS bill later that night.
— Nikole Killion, CBS News
