(CNN) – President Donald Trump’s budget office sent a memo to Capitol Hill on Tuesday evening urging House Republicans to agree to partially reopen the Department of Homeland Security – even without new funding for immigration enforcement.
The existence of the memo, which was confirmed by a person familiar with its contents, could mark a significant shift in the long-standing deadlock over DHS funding.
Trump officials are now advising House Republicans to accept a compromise measure from the Senate, which does not include money for ICE or border patrol, to ensure that workers do not go unpaid. Many House Republicans have so far resisted passing any DHS funding without also approving another bill for ICE.
The pressure from the White House comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to say whether he will bring that partial, Senate-passed DHS funding bill to the floor this week before the House heads out for a weeklong break.
The speaker told CNN on Monday that legislation has “some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted,” suggesting that House Republicans want technical adjustments made to the package.
Resolving the 73-day shutdown – already the longest in history – has proven challenging for Johnson, and the issue has further divided his already fractious House GOP.
The party is sharply divided with conservatives angry that Senate Majority Leader John Thune agreed to Democratic demands for only partial funding of the department. In response, House Republicans are trying to pass a separate – and legislatively complicated – package focused on immigration enforcement and border patrol without Democratic support.
Johnson previously indicated he wouldn’t consider the partial DHS funding bill until House Republicans take a separate vote preparing that complex process known as budget reconciliation, which is expected to take weeks.
The memo from the budget office, first reported by Punchbowl News, comes as delays in funding have raised alarms among some of the GOP’s national security hawks who worry that DHS could run out of money soon. (The White House had temporarily paid some key staff members, including those at Transportation Security Administration, using a rainy day fund, but that’s nearly depleted.)
Those Republicans have warned that action on the Senate-passed bill is needed urgently – and definitely before next week’s recess.
However, even if Johnson were to bring up the bill, it might still face tough challenges.
A senior House Republican told CNN on Tuesday that there simply aren’t enough votes to end part of the DHS shutdown this week without having money “in hand” for federal immigration enforcement.
“No one is going to vote to fund Homeland without money for ICE and CBP,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, who chairs the House Budget Committee.
The comments from Arrington – a retiring Republican respected among ultraconservatives – highlight how difficult it is for Congress right now as they try to end this shutdown.
The-CNN-Wire
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