GOP leaders duke it out over DHS funding
Source: Axios · Bias: Center Left
Summary
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are openly clashing over Homeland Security funding, complicating Republicans' path out of the 72-day shutdown.Why it matters: Thune is unlikely to say it publicly, but frustration is running high among Senate Republicans over Johnson's failure to pass a DHS appropriations bill that cleared the Senate — twice.The two leaders began the month with a joint statement and a joint plan of action: fund ICE and Border Patrol through reconciliation, and the rest of DHS through the regular appropriations process.DHS has warned that its stopgap fund to pay staff will run out in the coming weeks. Driving the news: Johnson (R-La.) is looking to modify the Senate-passed DHS bill to secure votes in the House. As written, it doesn't have the votes to pass until after a reconciliation bill is passed."It has some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted," Johnson said of the bill funding the non-immigration parts of DHS."We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers. It doesn't change most of the substance,' he said.Moment laters, and a few hundred feet away, Thune (R-S.D.) was asked to respond. He was diplomatic, but his message was clear:"I think we did everything we can to ensure that everything is appropriately funded," he said.Later, Thune seemed open to working with Johnson on how to alter the bill."We're working with the House to see if there's a way to do that," Thune said.Zoom in: The main point of contention in the House is around language that "zeroes out" funding for ICE and Border Patrol in the Senate-passed appropriations bill.A wide group of members want to strip that language from the Senate bill, avoiding taking a vote seen as defunding law enforcement.They're still considering waiting for the reconciliation process to be complete, and pairing a final vote on that with the DHS appropriations bill. But that would likely leave the department shutdown through mid-May.Between the lines: Johnson appears to be signaling relatively minor edits — more of a stylistic rewrite than a substantive overhaul.Even small changes would require the Senate to take up and pass the bill again.The bottom line: Both men are Republicans. Both are leaders. And both are staking out public positions that could make a private deal harder to reach.
Related Coverage
- Business Leader Calls on New York City to Resist Mamdani (Far Right — The Gateway Pundit)
- Penn Dems boot GOP Rep from House floor for patriotic suit despite encouraging ‘Pride’ attire (Far Right — BizPac Review)
- NATO Leaders Will Meet for Key Summit in Turkey After Trump Puts Freeloading Allies on Blast (Far Right — The Gateway Pundit)
- Pay-to-play cycle behind GOP's corporate tax cuts exposed in new report (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Mamdani mocked by GOP for telling New Yorkers to set thermostats to 78 (Center — The Hill News)
- Iran’s supreme leader bails on first day of late dad’s funeral ceremonies (Right — New York Post)
- ‘It’s crazy’: GOP rebel declares war on Republican leadership (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Iran welcomes foreign leaders for Ayatollah Khameinei’s state funeral (Center — The Hill News)
Daily Analysis
Read the full Parallax Pulse for April 28, 2026 — an AI-powered analysis of how Left and Right media covered the biggest stories this day.
More Headlines From April 28, 2026
- FCC orders early license renewal for ABC stations following Kimmel's first lady joke (Center)
- Bizarro World Cole Allen’s ‘heroic’ failure (Far Right)
- U.S. soldier pleads not guilty to charges of gambling on Maduro raid (Center)
- This Is Why We Need a Ballroom (Center Left)
- Kimmel’s crass first lady joke: Letters to the Editor — April 29, 2026 (Right)








