House GOP kills Senate DHS bill, backs 60-day ICE plan as Schumer calls it 'dead on arrival'

WASHINGTON, DC: The House of Representatives is moving toward a separate funding plan for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), diverging from a Senate-passed bill approved earlier this week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday, March 27, said Republicans are considering a short-term measure that includes immigration enforcement funding.

The move comes amid growing opposition from conservative lawmakers to the Senate proposal.

House Republicans push alternative DHS funding plan

Johnson told House Republicans that he plans to bring forward a 60-day stopgap spending bill to fund the entire DHS, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

His remarks indicate that the House is unlikely, at least in the near term, to take up the Senate-passed bill, which excluded funding for those agencies.

The proposal follows criticism from a bloc of conservative lawmakers who argued the Senate measure failed to address key immigration enforcement priorities.

Rep Tim Burchett said senators had rushed the process, stating, “I mean, they got a vacation coming, they’re ready to get the heck out of town. They’re not handling any legislation.”

He added, “If this is just some trickery to get them home for a dad-gum vacation, then, no, I’d say let’s stay here and work.”

Other lawmakers echoed similar concerns. Rep Keith Self said, “The Senate acted cowardly last night,” adding that the bill was passed with limited participation before lawmakers left Washington.

Rep Ralph Norman described the Senate measure as “irresponsible,” emphasizing that voter identification provisions and funding for parts of ICE should be included. “Those two things will have to be in,” he said.

The Senate had approved its version of the DHS funding bill by unanimous consent during an overnight session before departing for a two-week recess. The legislation funds several DHS agencies but omits ICE and CBP, reflecting a compromise reached after weeks of negotiations.

Senate Democrats signal opposition to House proposal

Senate Democrats have indicated that a House-passed bill including full funding for ICE and CBP without policy changes would face significant resistance. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said such a measure would not advance in the Senate.

“We’ve been clear from day one: Democrats will fund critical homeland security functions, but we will not give a blank check to Trump’s lawless and deadly immigration group without reforms," Schumer said.

"A 60-day CR that locks in the status quo is dead on arrival in the Senate, and Republicans know it,” he added.

Democratic lawmakers in the House also expressed opposition to funding immigration enforcement without additional safeguards.

Rep Susie Lee said, “I think we made it very clear, and the American public is demanding some sort of guardrails on an agency that has basically harmed communities across this country, resulting in the death of two American citizens.”

Meanwhile, some lawmakers called for bipartisan compromise to resolve the impasse. Rep Tom Suozzi said Americans are “sick” of ongoing disputes over government funding.

“They’re sick of politics. They don’t want this, this finger-pointing. They don’t want this game-playing, this blame game,” he said. “They want us to do the job, to find agreement and get the job done.”