House votes to renew foreign spy program, but GOP chaos stalls push to end DHS shutdown

WASHINGTON — House Republicans entered Wednesday hoping to pass two big bills. They ended up failing on one of them.

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The Republican-controlled House voted to renew a powerful foreign surveillance program, but a dispute over the farm bill delayed final passage of a bill. Senate-approved budget resolution that would restart the process of funding ICE and the Border Patrol for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.

The House voted 235-191 to extend the critical spying program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires this week.

House members appeared to be on track to pass the budget resolution Wednesday evening. But that was before a bloc of Republicans unhappy with provisions in the unrelated farm bill suspended their vote on the budget, forcing Republican Party leaders to negotiate with them on the House floor while voting was still open and the cameras were rolling.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., then moved the heated discussions to his private office. As the impasse reached the three-hour mark, leaders announced no further votes would take place Wednesday evening as they tried to find a solution.

Asked to describe the chaotic day, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., responded: “S—show.”

If successful, the budget vote could unlock the GOP support needed to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which was shut down for a record 74 days due to Democrats’ demands for reforms to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics.

Wednesday was one of the most tumultuous days in the House in recent memory. Earlier, a handful of hardline conservatives blocked a key procedural vote, preventing several of Trump’s legislative priorities from being debated. The difficulty of passing even routine motions highlighted, once again, the challenges of the Republican Party’s narrow 217-212 vote. majority ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

In this series of votes, Johnson and his team could be seen on the ground desperately trying to persuade the agitators — including Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo. – to reverse their no vote to yes.

After two hours of maneuvering and cajoling in full view of the public, Johnson’s efforts proved successful and the House passed 216-210. In addition to the Republican budget and FISA renewal, the ruler also advanced the farm bill, which sets agricultural policy for the next five years, en route to a final vote.

“These are some of the most complex public policy issues that Congress deals with, and they’re all sandwiched together because of the deadlines that are imposed on us,” Johnson said as he left the room after the vote on the rules.

Final passage of the farm bill could still come Thursday as Republicans try to resolve a dispute over year-round sales of E15, a biofuel blend.

Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said he was confident the farm bill would pass Thursday. Meanwhile, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., called the bill “fake” and vowed it would not pass in its current form, but she said she would vote yes and work to amend it during negotiations between the House and Senate.

The spy program is set to expire on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the House-passed bill would go nowhere in his chamber and that he was working on a 45-day extension.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, urged his colleagues not to let the surveillance program expire, saying the House’s three-year extension included modest reforms that would provide critical controls.

“If we saw even the slightest sign of abuse by these authorities, I would not be here today supporting this bill,” Himes said in a speech. “Section 702 is not a safety net. It is not an authority that can be used to surveil Americans. …And despite the fact that we have heard that word a lot today, it is not ‘unconstitutional’.”

Separately, the House budget resolution would create a pathway to reopen DHS. While there won’t be a quick fix — the House will soon recess for a weeklong recess — the budget tasks congressional committees with drafting legislation and authorizing $70 billion to fund Immigration, Customs and Border Patrol for roughly the next three years.

Through the expedited process known as budget reconciliation, Republicans would be able to bypass the Democrats’ filibuster and push the legislation through the Senate. with only 51 votes, without accepting the policy changes demanded by Democrats, such as making body cameras mandatory and limiting raids in sensitive places like schools and hospitals.

With Republican progress, it is possible that other DHS agencies could be funded relatively quickly. Before House members leave Washington on Thursday, Johnson could introduce a separate bill, passed by the Senate, that would fund DHS agencies other than ICE and Border Patrol, although no final decisions have been made.

This Senate-passed bill includes funding for agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration.