Speaker Mike Johnson is ‘convinced’ the impasse over homeland security funding will be resolved by Tuesday
The ongoing partial US government shutdown is expected to continue into early next week, with no reopening likely before Tuesday, if what federal officials on both sides of the country’s political aisle are saying is any indication.
House Democrats have so far said they are refusing to guarantee the votes needed to speed passage of a funding measure that would restore government operations.
Nonetheless, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence that the standoff would be resolved within two days, telling Fox News Sunday: “We’ll get this done by Tuesday, I’m convinced.” He added: “We do have to do it by a rule process, which will probably have to be on our own.”
The legislative process is set to begin on Monday afternoon, when the House rules committee meets to review the funding bill along with other items scheduled for consideration. Any votes on the House floor – first on the procedural rule governing debate and later on final passage – are unlikely to happen before Tuesday.
Johnson dismissed objections to the funding legislation, saying: “I don’t understand why anybody would have a problem with this, though. Remember, these are the bills that have already been passed. We’re going to do it again. It’s a formality at this point.”
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Johnson said he believes Republicans alone have enough votes to reopen the government by Tuesday. “I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday. We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town,” he said, citing ongoing travel disruptions after a major winter storm across the US.
The funding package now facing the House is not the same version lawmakers previously approved. After two 37-year-old US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, were fatally shot 17 days apart by federal immigration agents under the Trump administration’s command in Minnesota, US Senate Democrats demanded changes.
As a result, funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was removed and replaced with a two-week temporary measure, requiring the House to vote again on the revised bill.
Johnson has made clear he is not relying on Democratic votes to move the legislation under a “suspension of the rules”, which would require a two-thirds majority. Instead, leadership plans to advance the bill through a standard rule vote.
House Democrats have pushed back, arguing they deserve a role in shaping the path forward. Speaking on Saturday on MS NOW’s PoliticsNation, top US House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said: “We need a full and complete debate.
“And what I’ve made clear to House Republicans is that they cannot simply move forward with legislation, taking a ‘my way or the highway’ approach in the absence of House Democrats convening, which we’re going to do [Monday] – and having a discussion about the appropriate way forward.”
Advancing the bill through a party-line rule vote presents risks for House Republican leaders, who hold only a narrow majority. While such votes were once standard, they have increasingly become flashpoints where dissenting Republican members push for concessions, sometimes derailing leadership’s plans or delaying final passage.
Opposition from Democrats has been vocal. Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California, appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday to say he would not support reopening the government under the current terms.
“I’m not a no – I’m a firm no,” he said. “I just don’t see how in good conscience Democrats can vote for continuing [immigration enforcement] funding when they’re killing American citizens, when there’s no provision to repeal the tripling of the budget. I hope my colleagues will say no.”
Khanna also argued that lawmakers have alternatives, saying Congress could “open the remaining parts of government”, adding: “There are a lot of other parts of government that we can fund. The [immigration enforcement] issue should be separated.”
Jamie Raskin, a Democratic representative from Maryland, offered a more conditional stance on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. Asked whether he would support a short-term funding bill, he replied, “Yes,” before clarifying: “Well, the devil is in the details. We want to see everything that’s in there.”
He added that federal immigration agents should “have rules of engagement that don’t allow them to terrorize and intimidate, harass and assault US citizens and other people”.