House Republicans divided on DHS funding measures amid shutdown threat

A partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is all but guaranteed unless the Senate imposes a short-term extension of current funding levels on Thursday.

But avoiding a DHS shutdown means the same measure must also pass the House of Representatives, where success will depend on delicate political maneuvering by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to persuade a House Republican conference with varied ideas about what the path forward should look like.

“It would have to last 60 or 90 days, I think,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in 30 days, I don’t know what’s going to change.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to unveil an interim funding measure for DHS called a continuing resolution (CR), which would extend the department’s current budget for an as-yet-unknown amount of time.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gestures as he meets with reporters before a key procedural vote to end the partial government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

It comes after Democrats walked away en masse from a bipartisan deal to fund DHS through the end of fiscal 2026 over what they saw as insufficient safeguards for agencies responsible for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

At this point, Congress has funded 97% of the federal government through fiscal year 2026. But DHS is a large department with broad jurisdiction that includes the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) — all of which will experience varying levels of disruption in the event of a shutdown.

Republicans largely want to avoid such a situation, but have made clear that they believe its effects would fall squarely on Democrats’ shoulders.

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Conservatives like Norman favor an expanded CR, arguing that it would fund Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a higher level than the original bipartisan funding deal, while removing Democrats’ bargaining leverage for more safeguards on those agents.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital last week that he would support a full-year CR for DHS to “make sure FEMA is funded and TSA is funded, and end the drama.”

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., also said Wednesday, “I think we would like to push this as far as possible to avoid constant uncertainty for the agency.”

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the final votes of the week, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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“As long as this is up in the air, let’s say you do it for three, four months, the Democrats are going to want a lot of flesh to help them pass anything. And I think that’s going to weaken immigration enforcement efforts,” Crane told Fox News Digital.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters earlier this week that he would prefer a mid-length CR to something shorter.

“If we do two weeks and they’re gone for a week, that’s really a one-week CR. Nothing’s going to happen when so many important people are gone. So I think four weeks makes a lot more sense,” Cole said.

But committee member Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., completely rejected the idea of ​​a CR.

“CRs don’t work. CRs are not painless. It disrupts a lot of your supply chain and your purchasing and acquisitions,” he told Fox News Digital. “I can’t believe they’re thinking about it.”

Rutherford, a former sheriff, argued that a shutdown or CR would harm critical national security operations during a year expected to see a multitude of high-security events in the United States, such as the celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the FIFA World Cup, and others.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., prepares for a hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Johnson declined to share his thoughts on the length of the CR when asked by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, but emphasized the House Republican Party’s position that the Senate should pass the bipartisan bill that Democrats initially abandoned.

“I’m not going to prejudge how long it will be or what it should be. I’m hopeful. I mean, we still have time. When you want, you can. And if they come to an agreement on this and do it, it’s going to be on the entire country,” Johnson said.

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House Republican leaders will likely need almost all Republicans to pass a CR for DHS, with many Democrats warning they won’t support any funding for the department without seeing evidence of critical reform.

Jeffries did not elaborate on what he would support or oppose in terms of DHS funding during his weekly news conference Monday, but he suggested to reporters that a simple stopgap funding bill with no changes to ICE funding was out of the question.

“ICE is out of control right now. The American people know that, and ICE clearly needs to be reined in,” Jeffries said. “Our position has been clear. Sweeping changes are needed at the Department of Homeland Security before a DHS funding bill moves forward. Period. Period.”