A chaotic week looms on Capitol Hill as House Republicans scramble to square a budget blueprint with the Senate, push emergency DHS funding, fend off the FISA clock and juggle looming legislation like the farm bill. Tensions inside the GOP over reconciliation strategy and conservative add-ons collide with Democrats who refuse to cooperate, and a violent episode at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner only sharpened the urgency. This is about securing the border, keeping critical agencies running, and forcing clarity from a fractured majority that has to move fast.
There’s no such thing as hazing in Congress in the way college kids know it, but the Capitol can still feel like a Greek house gone rogue. You won’t find fraternity row, with each house festooned with a trifecta of deltas, gammas and epsilons. No drinking games here, at least not officially.
“I’m going to say next week is hell week,” warned Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, last Thursday. “Next week is going to be hell week.’ That warning landed before the harrowing episode Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which only hotwired the pressure to act.
House Republicans face a devil of a week trying to line up with the Senate on a budget framework to prospectively fund ICE and the Border Patrol. FISA expires early Friday morning, and the farm bill sits in the mix too, so there’s a stack of deadlines that could all blow up at once. If they don’t get it done, internal discipline and public confidence will take a hit.
It all traces back to an early-morning Senate move. We start at 3:36 a.m. last Thursday because that’s when the Senate approved a budget framework to possibly fund ICE and CBP and set reconciliation in motion. Republicans are using reconciliation to bypass a filibuster because Democrats won’t help and insist on opposing reforms many conservatives see as essential.
“We’re trying to use the reconciliation process to get money to secure the border,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. That line captures the GOP plan: move on a party-line path if Democrats remain obstructionist and keep the focus narrowly on immigration enforcement funding.
Democrats have balked about funding ICE since high-profile killings triggered national outrage and political posturing. “They want to give $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol without any reforms,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “(They’re) adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody – well, two groups, Border Patrol and ICE – that nobody respects in this country.”
That rankled GOP officials. “It makes my ears red. It takes a lot to get me upset. But Chuck Schumer, no one respects you. The definition of a lying scumbag politician. That is you,” said Mullin of his former Senate colleague. Strong rhetoric mirrors the stakes: if Democrats block, Republicans feel compelled to act alone.
Pressure is ratcheting because emergency DHS money is about to expire and the House needs to align quickly with the Senate blueprint. “It has to be clean, because it’s got to be quick,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “The last paychecks go out at the end of this month.”
Reconciliation isn’t a quick snap, though, and Senate leaders warn it will take time. “Reconciliation is still a little ways off,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. At the same time, many conservatives want to tack on policy victories, which complicates a fast, focused approach.
“We should be taking a broader approach to reconciliation,” said Rep. Chip Roy R-Texas, and that sums up the internal fight. Ideas on the table range from covering the cost of the war in Iran to a temporary suspension of the federal gasoline tax, extra tax relief and other priorities conservatives want to package with DHS funding.
One of the most contentious add-ons is the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote and attract some votes on the right. “I think you’d see a lot more folks on our side jump on board with it if they had that,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. Still, many doubt such measures can be shoehorned into a fiscal reconciliation vehicle.
“This is probably the only reconciliation we’re going to have before the break. That’s a poor excuse for the work we’re doing up here,” complained Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “One bill with that limited amount.” “People probably intend to do a third reconciliation bill. But you’re not looking at Bambi’s baby brother here,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “This is the last train leaving the station.”
President Trump pushed for unity on the blueprint, writing that “We need all Republicans to join together and support this Budget Blueprint, which will allow us to bypass Democrat obstruction in the Senate, and fund Immigration Enforcement with only Republican Votes. The Senate passed this Blueprint last week on Thursday morning, and now, House Republicans must UNIFY, and pass the same Blueprint to get the Bill done.” The President added that he wants a “FAST and FOCUSED” bill by June 1.
“If you’re going through hell, keep going,” said Winston Churchill. That line hangs heavy for lawmakers juggling deadlines, policy fights and raw political theater, and it’s becoming the backdrop for yet another combustible week in Washington.
