House Republicans privately express 'tremendous concerns' with Mike Johnson's play call on DHS [View all]

Source: MS NOW News

Mar. 27, 2026, 2:05 PM EDT


After a week of false starts toward ending the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., delivered the biggest setback yet on Friday, telling his conference that he wouldn’t bring the Senate deal, passed just hours earlier with unanimous support, to the House floor. Behind closed doors, many House Republicans are already questioning the speaker’s decision. On a GOP members-only conference call on Friday, Johnson came out in opposition to the Senate bill. “We are not gonna eat the crap sandwich the Senate sent us,” Johnson told House Republicans, according to a source on the line.

The Senate deal would fund most of DHS through the end of the fiscal year, with the notable exception of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and some operations at Customs and Border Protection. But Johnson wants all of DHS funded, vowing to put forward an eight-week continuing resolution that would cover the entire department. Democrats, however, have repeatedly rejected that approach, and there’s no reason to believe they’d go along with Johnson’s proposal now.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made it clear Friday that Johnson’s proposal would be “dead on arrival” in his chamber. And a senior GOP Senate aide, granted anonymity to discuss the fluid situation, said there is a “zero percent chance” Johnson’s plan passes the Senate.“Clearest way to ending the shutdown,” this Senate GOP source said, is for the “House to approve what we sent.” But it’s not just Democrats and Senate Republicans who are questioning Johnson’s decision.

During the private conference call with House Republicans, Johnson’s own members criticized the speaker’s plan, according to the source on the line who was granted anonymity to share the private discussions. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, who is facing what could be a difficult re-election bid this fall, said she has “tremendous concerns” with Johnson’s proposal. “Who thinks the Senate is going to pass this?” Miller-Meeks asked, according to the source on the call.

Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/house-republicans-privately-tremendous-concerns-mike-johnsons-dhs