Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing pressure from fellow Republicans as he insists on passing a GOP-only reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement before taking up bipartisan legislation to fund the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, even as the department is set to run out of money to pay employees in a few weeks.
The Senate voted to advance a budget blueprint for the reconciliation bill on Tuesday, kicking off a marathon debate and a final vote later this week. But DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned Tuesday on "Fox & Friends" that the money to pay employees will run dry, with no further emergency reserves to fall back on, by the first week of May — a date by which it is highly unlikely Congress could pass the reconciliation bill.
What the Right Is Saying
Hard-line conservatives, led by members of the House Freedom Caucus, are pushing Johnson to include additional priorities in the reconciliation bill rather than passing a "skinny" funding measure. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), policy chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said Republicans are likely to get only one chance at reconciliation and should use it to address multiple priorities.
"I think we are likely only to be able to have one other bite at the apple. I'm not saying a third is impossible. I'm just saying, look, we're trying to get appropriations done," Roy told The Hill last week. "So my view is, if we need to get DHS funded, let's get on that horse. Let's add some other things to it."
Johnson has argued that sequencing matters, saying the GOP needs to ensure immigration enforcement agencies aren't left behind if the bulk of DHS is funded first. "We've got to make sure that we don't isolate and, as I say, make an orphan out of key agencies of the department," Johnson said.
What the Left Is Saying
While this story primarily involves Republican divisions over funding strategy, some Democrats and progressive-leaning analysts have noted that the extended shutdown has left critical agencies unfunded. The Senate has already passed a bipartisan bill to fund most of DHS, which Johnson has so far declined to bring up for a vote in the House. Democrats have broadly supported the Senate-passed bipartisan funding measure as the cleanest path to avoiding a lapse in pay for DHS workers.
What the Numbers Show
DHS has been shut down for more than two months. The department is set to run out of money to pay employees by the first week of May, according to Secretary Mullin. Trump used executive authority to order that DHS employees be paid during the shutdown, but that authority is set to dry up.
Johnson can afford to lose only two GOP votes on any party-line bill, assuming all members are present — a razor-thin margin. The Senate-passed bipartisan DHS funding bill would need to be amended by the House and cleared again by the Senate, which could drag out the process further.
The reconciliation process allows Republicans to bypass the Democratic filibuster in the Senate but involves multiple steps. The Senate budget blueprint vote launched the process on Tuesday, with a final vote expected later this week.
The Bottom Line
The clock is ticking for DHS funding. With money set to run out by early May and the reconciliation process unlikely to be complete by then, Johnson faces pressure from both moderates who want a quick bipartisan solution and hardliners who want to maximize the reconciliation opportunity. House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said the conference will need to decide whether to pursue a "quick and skinny" package or load it up with more reforms. The outcome will determine whether thousands of DHS employees receive pay and whether the longest government shutdown in history continues.