House Republicans on Friday blocked a Senate-approved measure to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, extending a six-week shutdown as they push for legislation that would fully restore funding to the entire agency.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers would act quickly to advance a temporary funding bill that would cover DHS for 60 days, after the Senate proposal allocated “zero” funding for federal immigration enforcement.

“It is unconscionable to me that the Democrats would force some sort of negotiation at three o’clock in the morning and try to foist this upon the American people and then get on their jets and go home for their holiday — and pretend and think that we’re going to go along with that,” Johnson fumed.

“It can’t be the case that every Senate Republican read this bill,” he added.

Johnson said President Donald Trump supports the House approach and is separately moving forward with an executive order to ensure Transportation Security Administration agents receive full pay, aiming to ease weeks of disruption at U.S. airports.

Earlier in the day, Rep. Chip Roy said the Senate compromise would not pass in its current form, calling it “not going to pass as it is,” and describing it as “absolutely offensive” to Border Patrol personnel and other federal workers who have gone without pay.

Another Republican lawmaker criticized the Senate for leaving Washington for a two-week Easter and Passover recess before sending a final bill to the president.

“PSA to senate schedulers: may want to book a return flight for your boss,” Rep. Lauren Boebert posted on X. “Our work here isn’t finished.”

The Senate-passed bill would have funded all DHS operations except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.

Republicans note that those agencies already received billions in funding under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law in July, though some lawmakers are seeking additional funding through a future reconciliation package.

Senate Democrats have delayed DHS funding for 42 days in response to fatal shootings earlier this year in Minnesota involving ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers.

“They ended up getting no reforms but, you know, we’re going to have to fight some of those battles another day,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Democrats.

Amid the stalemate, the administration has taken steps to address staffing shortages at airports. Earlier this week, Trump ordered ICE agents to assist at airports to compensate for missing TSA personnel, and he announced plans to use emergency authority to ensure TSA workers are paid.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats had prevailed in the standoff, declaring that they “held the line” against providing a “blank check” to what he described as “lawless” ICE and CBP.

The impact of the shutdown has been severe. More than 480 TSA officers have resigned, and absentee rates at some airports have reached as high as 50%, a senior TSA official told Congress on Wednesday. Some agents, struggling without pay, have resorted to selling blood or sleeping in their cars.

Travelers have faced the longest security wait times in the agency’s 25-year history, the official added, with warnings that smaller airports could be forced to shut down if the funding impasse continues.

Even former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr was seen Wednesday waiting alongside thousands of passengers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where delays have stretched to four hours or more.

{Matzav.com}