Senate Republicans finally reached a deal with Democrats and rammed through funding for most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), except for immigration enforcement. Senators then left town so they could not vote on the crucial SAVE America Act. And Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is fuming.
Democrats insisted on not including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol (BP) in the funding deal, and Senate Republicans agreed. Now, frontline ICE and BP are funded separately through President Donald Trump‘s term, though civilian Customs and Border Protection staff that supports the frontline agents are not. Civilian support staff for border agents are not funded through the separate funding and will therefore go without paychecks. But the whole manner and circumstances of the vote, from using voice vote instead of roll call (hiding who voted for what) to doing it at 3 a.m. to rushing out of town afterwards and avoiding the critical issue of the SAVE Act, was underhanded and cowardly, not to mention Democrats can now brag to their voters that Republicans caved. John Thune (R-S.D.) should be ashamed of himself. No wonder House GOP members are extremely unhappy.
In the dead of night, with only five senators present on the floor and no one there to object, the Senate rushed through a DHS funding bill that deliberately left ICE and CBP unfunded.
— Rep. Keith Self (@RepKeithSelf) March 27, 2026
Now, they are leaving town.
No SAVE America Act. ICE and CBP unfunded.
Senate Republicans…
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) went on Fox Business to talk about the shady DHS deal and how Speaker Mike Johnson reacted to it. “Our speaker is very unhappy. I'm not happy, our whole leadership group. What the Senate did was frankly not right. We are going to make sure that border is funded. This is about making sure that President Trump's number one promise was that the border was going to be secure, he’s accomplished with Republican leadership incredible things with the Southern border. It has never been as tight as it is right now.”
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Speaker Johnson and Whip Tom Emmer are FURIOUS with what the Senate GOP did with the DHS funding deal, which omits ICE
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 27, 2026
The Senate might have to COME BACK.
"They did this at 3 IN THE MORNING!"
"Our speaker is VERY unhappy, I'M not happy! Our whole leadership."… pic.twitter.com/tmfOXNC7hW
Republicans need to be focused on that goal as a whole party, however, Emmer argued. “But we are not going to allow these radical anarchist, Marxist, socialist Democrats to literally stop or create an open border situation again like we experienced under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and we're going to make sure that we continue to deport criminal illegal aliens. This is what Americans want.”
Looks like Leader John Thune is on his way out of town with his private escort, as the SAVE America Act gets left behind.
— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) March 27, 2026
This is very disappointing.
I am willing to stay in Washington as long as it takes to get the job done. pic.twitter.com/NLg4xEJRdg
Read Also: Secret Service Agent ‘Accidentally’ Shoots Himself While Escorting Jill Biden
Asked if the House will force the Senate to return by a no vote, Emmer vaguely replied, “The House will have a solution. That's as much as I can tell you. There'll be more on that very shortly. I think the leadership team with the speaker has been working through this. Again, they did this at 3:00 in the morning, Stuart [Varney]. Instead of doing it in the light of day when all of America could watch what's going on, they did this procedural move early in the morning. By the way, it sets dangerous precedents going forward. If you could take appropriations bills and start to take out pieces that you don't like, this will never end. So we're working through it in the House.”
Naturally, House Republicans want senators back in town, and Donald Trump will almost certainly want it as well, since he has insisted he will not sign any more legislation until the SAVE America Act reaches his desk. Besides which, at a time when immigration enforcement is at the crux of the midterm election, Republicans cannot afford to look weak and give concessions to Democrats. Whatever the truth of the funding for ICE, most voters will only know that ICE was left out of the bill. The Senate GOP needs to get better at messaging.
Also, as Emmer said, it sets a bad precedent to allow butchering of appropriations bills to please Democrats.
There is an old cliché that goes, “With friends like this, who needs enemies?” And as Senate Republicans just proved again, they are more interested in their own convenience and coverup than they are in their constituents’ interests.
Editor’s Note: Support and follow PJ Media’s coverage of shutdown updates and key news in this midterm election year. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member