Conservatives seethe after Johnson backs Senate plan he previously called ‘a joke’

Hard-line conservatives are seething after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reversed course to back a Senate plan that detaches funding for immigration enforcement from a broader package to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Although Johnson had previously called the Senate proposal “a joke,” he changed his tune Wednesday after President Trump endorsed the strategy. The plan seeks to fund most of DHS quickly with Democratic support, while pushing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol to later in the year on a separate track that doesn’t require Democratic votes.

The conservatives are irate, saying the two-step strategy would create a national security threat by denying more money for the very agencies that protect the border and seek to deport criminals living in the country illegally. They’re warning that they’ll oppose the legislation if it hits the floor in its current form.

“Funding for ICE and CBP must never be separated from DHS funding,” Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, wrote on the social platform X.

“If Republicans isolate it, they’re handing our border and ICE agents straight to the radicals who will defund and dismantle them every chance they get. Fund DHS fully, or the open borders globalists win.”

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), a former Freedom Caucus chairman, echoed the outrage, saying the Senate bill is a gift to Democrats — one that he will oppose.

“Let’s make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again. If that’s the vote, I’m a NO,” he wrote on X.

The conservative opposition might ultimately be a non-factor in deciding the fate of the legislation. That’s because Democrats, who were already eager to support the Senate bill last week, are likely to vote overwhelmingly for it. And Trump’s endorsement predicts that most Republicans will do the same.

Still, Johnson’s head-snapping reversal could create a challenging path ahead for him, as he may need to shore up support from House Republicans on a rule vote, which would tee up debate and a final vote on the Senate bill. Rule votes are typically tests of party loyalty, and Johnson has struggled in the past to pass them.

Another option for Johnson is to put the Senate bill on a procedural track, called the suspension calendar, allowing GOP leaders to bypass the rule and bring the legislation straight to the floor. The trade-off for the fast-track strategy is that the bill would then need support from two-thirds of the chamber to pass — a high bar, but one that might be achievable given the expected support from most Democrats.

The debate is a delicate one for Johnson and other House GOP leaders, who are struggling to keep Republicans united with a narrow majority that’s on the line in November’s midterms. As evidence, House GOP leadership declined to attempt to pass the Senate bill to fund the bulk of DHS without a recorded vote during a Thursday pro forma session, with outrage from conservatives likely a contributing factor.

House Republicans are meeting on a conference call at 11 a.m. EDT Thursday morning.

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