Republicans push Secret Service funding after third Trump assassination attempt
Tom Emmer on the WHCA dinner shooting and DHS funding dispute amid political violence
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer details his experience during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting, where he needed help due to a foot injury. He welcomes the quick action of the Secret Service to neutralize the suspect, Cole Allen, who had anti-Trump posts. Emmer criticizes Senate Democrats for repeatedly blocking full funding for the Department of Homeland Security despite growing threats.
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Republicans want swift action to defund the Secret Service after it foiled a third apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.
The federal police, along with many other agencies, have been unfunded for 74 days due to the record shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While the shutdown began following Democrats’ refusal to fund immigration operations, it is now up to Republicans in the House of Representatives to resolve it.
A bill to fund most of the department has been languishing in the House after being approved by the upper chamber in March. This legislation would also fund the Secret Service.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has not yet introduced the bill due to concerns that the legislation excludes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Officers stand guard after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC, April 25, 2026. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES RAGE AGAINST DHS SENATE SHUTDOWN AGREEMENT
But the apparent assassination attempt seemed to push Johnson from that position.
“We need to move DHS funding because it’s urgent. As the Secretary of the Interior said, we’re out of money. He’s out of money at the end of this week,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “It’s very dangerous, as was demonstrated on Saturday night. We have to get the job done.”
Some House Republicans are urging Johnson to introduce the Senate bill.
Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., sent a letter to Johnson, obtained by Fox News Digital, that called for immediate consideration of the Senate’s partial DHS bill.
“There is no time to lose,” Langworthy wrote. “As the attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this weekend made clear to the American people, our country remains in danger. While we still have much work to do to fully fund immigration measures through the reconciliation process, we must clearly demonstrate that we are committed to solutions as soon as possible.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., blamed House Republicans on Monday for the record funding shortfall by letting the Senate bill languish in the chamber.
“Bring the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate to the House today, and it would fund the Department of Homeland Security in its entirety, except for ICE and the violent Republican mass deportation machine,” Jeffries said.
White House budget chief Russ Vought was scheduled to meet with House Republicans later Monday to discuss the path forward on DHS funding, a close source told Fox News Digital.
Congressional Republicans have taken a two-track approach to funding DHS after Democrats repeatedly failed to reach agreement on a full-year spending bill.
One item would fund ICE and Border Patrol for three and a half years through the budget reconciliation process.
House Republicans are expected to approve a budget resolution passed by the Senate to fund ICE and CBP as early as Wednesday. Trump urged House Republicans to approve the Senate measure without any changes Monday afternoon.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke Monday about the urgency of funding the Department of Homeland Security after the third apparent assassination attempt on President Trump’s life. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVITALIZING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT
This next vote will unblock the reconciliation process and see Republicans embark on a mad race to finalize the package by June 1.
Meanwhile, some Senate Republicans are considering several options for funding the Secret Service and the rest of DHS.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said on X that Republicans should force Democrats’ hands again after Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
“This week the Senate should register Democrats again and see how they vote,” Scott said. “Will they decide that now is the right time to finally fund [the] Secret Service and all of DHS? Even after last night’s violence and ANOTHER assassination attempt on the President of the United States, this shouldn’t be such a fight to fight. »
And Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, said “maybe now is the time” to neutralize the filibuster.
Senator Ron Johnson speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, February 12, 2026. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“The Democrats will do it when they get the majority,” Johnson said on “Mornings with Maria.” “At a time of natural danger, if Democrats refuse to fund DHS, I would say this would be the time to end the filibuster for good.”
Trump long pushed for eliminating the 60-vote threshold in the Senate throughout his second term, but a portion of Republican senators balked at the demand, fearing it would benefit Democrats the next time they control the chamber.
