Johnson calls out GOP Senate over "joke" of a DHS plan

Sharp differences between House and Senate GOP leaders burst into the open this afternoon, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) two-step plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security and then ICE the first casualty. Why it matters: The collapse was public — and painful. Blame flew freely, with House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump weighing in. "This gambit that was done last night is a joke," Johnson (R-La.) said. Johnson claimed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was the "engineer" of the plan, but his anger at the Senate — where not a single GOP lawmaker objected — was unmistakable. "I'm quite convinced that it can't be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill." State of play: Johnson insisted that Trump backs his plan to pass an eight-week DHS funding bill and send it to an empty Senate, where most senators are already airborne. "I spoke to the President a few moments ago," Johnson said Friday. "He understands exactly what we're doing and why, and he supports it." Thune was spotted — and shamed — by a GOP House member as he strode through the airport. The speaker's claim was bolstered by Trump's actions, as the president followed through on his plan to pay TSA employees by shifting funds with an executive order . Trump later piled on, telling Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich , "You can't have a bill that's not going to fund — in my opinion, you can't have a bill that's not going to fund ICE." Driving the news: Johnson would have faced major problems trying to pass the Senate deal. By contrast, he's unlikely to have trouble moving a short-term extension through the House. House Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) told Axios in a phone interview that the GOP conference will be united in its support for the CR. "The speaker had a call with all the members and addressed a lot of their issues, and everybody wants border security," McClain said. McClain also said she had not heard from Senate GOP leadership and found that surprising, though she had spoken to Trump on the phone twice Friday. Zoom out: In the first year of Trump's second term, there have been only minor differences between Republicans in the House and Senate. Recall the one-bill vs. two-bill debate on reconciliation 1.0 (which Thune ultimately won). But over the past 13 months, Republicans have largely set aside ideological and institutional differences, overcoming razor-thin margins to advance Trump's agenda . Johnson insisted Friday that he and Thune are still on the same page. Zoom in: There's always another path in Congress. Deals often die a thousand deaths before coming back to life. Even so, this DHS deal was supposed to be the easy part. The Senate expected the House to pass its plan and Trump to sign it. Both chambers were bracing for a tougher fight ahead over a second reconciliation bill — where they'll have to agree on funding, and offsets, for ICE and CBP.

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