The White House is urging Congress to quickly reopen the Department of Homeland Security through a bipartisan spending bill that has been stalled in the House for more than three weeks due to GOP opposition.
In a memo circulated around Capitol Hill on Tuesday and obtained by the Deseret News, the White House urged lawmakers to “immediately” approve the Senate-passed DHS spending bill as well as a budget resolution to specifically fund federal immigration enforcement. The agency’s reopening “has never been more urgent,” the memo stated, citing the recent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump over the weekend.
“It is imperative that Congress immediately fund DHS and its critical operations to protect the Homeland,” the memo stated. “Failure to pass the budget resolution immediately will jeopardize paychecks for the DHS personnel that keep the Homeland safe.”
The memo rejected an idea floated by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., this week that the DHS bill would need some modifications before it can be approved — a move that would prolong the 73-day shutdown even further. That suggestion came as a way to appease hardline conservatives in the House who protested the lack of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
Republican leaders had planned to pair the DHS spending package with another funding bill specifically targeting immigration enforcement that could pass without Democratic support. That two-track proposal was endorsed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Johnson in a joint statement earlier this month — prompting frustration by the Senate leader when the speaker appeared to renege on that deal.
“The administration made it very clear that they wanted and expected that hopefully to be picked up and passed by the House,” Thune said of the DHS spending bill “Well, that was 27 days ago.”
Johnson has not yet agreed to put the Senate DHS bill on the floor, but told reporters on Wednesday that Republicans are “working on all of that this week, stay tuned.”
House conservatives in the Freedom Caucus have repeatedly said they would reject the funding package because it contains zeros for both ICE and Border Patrol in the legislative text. Those members have argued that funding for DHS and immigration enforcement should all be included under one bill — a proposal that has been opposed by Democrats.