House GOP Rejects Senate Fund Bill for DHS

House Republicans have decided not to back a recently passed Senate bill aimed at funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed out that it lacks funding for both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

In the early hours of Friday, the Senate approved the funding measure through a voice vote. Dubbed by some as the “No-ICE” bill, it will now head over to the House as the Senate breaks for a two-week recess. While the bill aims to reopen most of the DHS, it does not allocate additional resources for ICE or border security.

Johnson (R-La.) noted that a bill without funding for immigration and border security simply isn’t complete.

“This gambit that was done last night is a joke,” Johnson told reporters in the Capitol.

During a conference call, Johnson mentioned that he is contemplating a straightforward 60-day continuing resolution that would provide temporary funding for DHS and include resources for ICE. The House is expected to vote on this short-term measure on Friday evening to fund the entire DHS until May 22. The session is set to resume at 8:00 p.m. ET, with a final vote anticipated around 10:30 p.m. ET.

According to Johnson, he anticipates that House Republicans will pass the bill, leaving the Senate to take it up. However, it’s uncertain whether this temporary measure will find support in the Senate, especially since many Senators have already left Washington, and Democrats have voiced refusal to back any funding for ICE.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) expressed skepticism about the 60-day funding proposal, deeming it “dead on arrival.”

In contrast, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) indicated that there’s significant backing among Democrats for the Senate deal. He even suggested the possibility of Democrats assisting in advancing it during procedural votes, typically guided by party lines.

“We’ve made our stance clear: while Democrats will fund necessary Homeland Security operations, we refuse to provide a blank check for Trump’s controversial immigration policies without necessary reforms,” Schumer stated.

The House swiftly pushed back against the Senate-approved bill that falls short in funding for ICE and CBP. It also does not include provisions from President Trump’s SAVE America Act, which mandates voter ID requirements.

Notably, the Senate bill lacked several constraints that Democrats had sought for federal immigration officers, such as mandating judicial warrants and requiring ICE agents to disclose their identities.

On a different front, Trump issued a memorandum on Friday to restart pay for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who have been working without compensation since mid-February. This decision aims to resolve ongoing backup issues at airports nationwide.

“If Congress fails to honor the service of our TSA officers, who are performing vital public safety duties under uncertain conditions, my Administration will take action,” the directive stated, identifying these circumstances as an emergency compromising national security.

Following the refusal of congressional Democrats to support DHS funding—especially after the recent deaths of two U.S. citizens involved in confrontations with ICE and CBP—TSA agents have been unpaid. This has triggered a wave of resignations, leading to record delays at major airports.

“We’ve been trying to fund everything for weeks,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). “The end result reflects what they were willing to agree upon, but it’s unfortunately lacking in reform.”

Republicans argue that if Schumer and his colleagues truly wanted reforms, they would have supported funding for immigration enforcement, instead of concentrating solely on air travel, since DHS is responsible for homeland security.

Thune lamented that this situation could have been resolved weeks prior, stating, “This could have been done three weeks ago.”

For now, ICE and CBP have access to a financial “buffer” from a major reconciliation bill approved in July 2025, which allocated around $75 billion to ICE and about $64 billion to CBP as advance funding. This funding is meant to be temporary, designed to expand enforcement capabilities, particularly for expedited deportations and border wall initiatives.

House Republicans are adjusting their expectations regarding what can realistically be achieved with the Senate bill, contemplating a potential compromise on voter ID laws while likely pushing for additional funding for ICE.

“I think we need to lower our expectations concerning this reconciliation bill,” remarked Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). “It must be focused on funding ICE for a decade; that’s our top priority.”