The White House Office of Management and Budget sent a memo urging House Republicans to accept a Senate compromise that would partially reopen DHS, even though it does not fund ICE or CBP. The move aims to prevent DHS workers from going unpaid amid a 73-day shutdown that has deepened GOP divisions. Speaker Mike Johnson has raised drafting concerns and seeks a separate reconciliation path for immigration funding, while conservatives like Rep. Jodey Arrington insist they will not approve DHS funding without money for immigration enforcement.
White House Budget Office Urges House GOP To Accept Partial DHS Funding To Avoid Worker Pay Freeze
The United States Capitol building is seen in Washington DC, United States on April 22, 2026. - Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images
President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget sent a memo to Capitol Hill Tuesday urging House Republicans to accept a Senate compromise that would partially reopen the Department of Homeland Security even though it does not include new funding for immigration enforcement.
The memo, confirmed by a person familiar with its contents and first reported by Punchbowl News, could mark a turning point in the months-long impasse over DHS funding. White House officials argue the Senate-passed measure — which provides limited, short-term funding for DHS but does not add money for ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — should be approved quickly to prevent department employees from going unpaid.
Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to bringing the bill to the floor this week before the House departs for a weeklong recess, saying the measure contains "some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted." That comment underscores House Republicans' desire for technical edits and a separate path to secure additional immigration-enforcement funding.
Resolving the 73-day shutdown — already the longest in U.S. history — has strained House GOP unity. Conservatives have criticized Senate Majority Leader John Thune for agreeing to a deal with Democrats that resulted in only partial DHS funding. In response, many House Republicans are pursuing a separate, and legally complex, reconciliation package intended to fund immigration enforcement and border patrol without Democratic support.
Some Republican national-security hawks have warned that DHS could run out of money within days. The White House briefly tapped a rainy-day fund to keep critical staff, including Transportation Security Administration personnel, paid, but that reserve is nearly exhausted, officials say. Those lawmakers have urged swift action on the Senate-passed bill, at least to prevent immediate layoffs or missed paychecks.
"No one is going to vote to fund Homeland without money for ICE and CBP," said Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), chair of the House Budget Committee, reflecting the deep resistance within the party to approving DHS funding absent concurrent immigration-enforcement dollars.
Arrington, a retiring Republican influential with the party's conservative wing, highlights the political and procedural barriers that could keep the shutdown in place even if the speaker brings the partial funding bill to the floor. With House leaders balancing immediate payroll concerns against long-term strategy for border and immigration policy, a resolution remains uncertain as lawmakers head into recess.
Help us improve.
