Congress
Pressuring Democrats, Johnson rules out standalone troop pay bill
Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans on a private call Thursday that he doesn’t plan to put a standalone bill to pay troops up for a vote before they miss paychecks Oct. 15, arguing the Senate would kill that measure while Democrats also block an already-passed stopgap bill that includes servicemember pay.
Johnson also made clear he doesn’t plan to bring the House back next week, or at all, until the Senate passes the continuing resolution the chamber passed weeks ago, according to five people granted anonymity to describe the call. He said the House would remain on 48-hour recall notice indefinitely.
On the call, Johnson sought to tamp down a growing push among rank-and-file House Republicans by pressing them to deliver a clear message as to why a separate troop pay bill is unnecessary: House Republicans passed a bill weeks ago that funds troops, air traffic, floor insurance and more, Johnson argued.
“We’ve done our job,” he said, adding that Republicans should use their franking privileges to get that message out.
Putting a standalone troop pay bill on the floor would lessen GOP leaders’ leverage to push Senate Democrats to simply pass the House-approved stopgap. And in another complication for GOP leaders, Trump has said he will get military members their pay regardless. White House officials privately say they will move around funds to pay troops if Congress doesn’t act.
But Johnson’s argument that a troop pay bill wouldn’t clear the Senate is encountering skepticism. Republicans believe Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would not block that legislation from passing via unanimous consent; his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rank-and-file Senate Democrats widely believe that standalone bill would pass, as well.
“We have no idea what Speaker Johnson is talking about,” an aide to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in response to the claim that the Senate would block the bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to clinch a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding agreement Thursday.
“I think the Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final” offer, Thune told reporters. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”
“We’re going to know soon,” he added.
The South Dakota Republican declined to discuss details of the offer but suggested it was similar to where the discussions were headed over the weekend. GOP senators then were looking at a bipartisan deal that would fund most of DHS but leave out funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
That offer was rejected by Democrats. But two people granted anonymity to discuss the revised proposal said it, too, omitted only ERO money but included additional language to try to address some of Democrats’ concerns.
Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate is expected to vote again on the House-passed DHS bill Thursday afternoon. The House is also voting again on DHS funding Thursday and is planning to leave town Friday morning for a two-week holiday recess. Progress in the Senate could prompt House GOP leaders to stay in session in hopes of sending a bill to President Donald Trump.
Asked about the Senate vote, Thune said he hoped there would be “some finality in this real soon.”
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins joined the House Problem Solvers Caucus lunch Thursday to talk about the stalled Homeland Security funding effort and proposals to overhaul federal immigration enforcement activities.
“I think everyone is pretty frustrated at this point,” the Maine Republican said in an interview after the bipartisan meeting.
The centrist group, which extended the invitation to Collins, talked through the pain points on finding a path out of the DHS shutdown that has stretched more than 40 days and is triggering massive air travel disruptions. The conversation comes ahead of a House vote later Thursday on funding DHS, where moderates are looking to break the impasse.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.
As House Republicans start to dream big about another party-line bill, one key member who voted down the last GOP reconciliation bill is warning his colleagues not to count on his support.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) referenced his vote last summer against the “big, beautiful bill” in an interview Thursday and suggested he was prepared to oppose another GOP-only bill if it, too, includes spending cuts he opposes to social programs.
“You saw what I did on the first reconciliation bill,” Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick and just one more House Republican could be enough to tank a party-line package given Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim majority.
Still, many of Fitzpatrick’s colleagues are making plans for an expansive new GOP-only bill that would include more money for Homeland Security operations, Iran war funding and other cost-of-living priorities, while demanding it be fully offset with spending cuts — possibly from social programs targeted for “fraud prevention.”
“You never say ‘never’ at anything, but I’m never a fan of single-party bills,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s just my approach to government.”
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