By David Morgan
WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - Legislation to fund the U.S. Secret Service and other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security will have to be modified before it can pass the House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday, raising the possibility of funding delays days after a gunman opened fire at a Washington dinner attended by President Donald Trump.
The measure, which the Senate twice passed unanimously, is part of a two-pronged Republican effort to end the partial
shutdown that has gripped U.S. homeland security operations since mid-February. Negotiations to fund the department failed to reach agreement on reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens earlier this year.
The bill would fund all of DHS, with the exception of ICE and Border Patrol. House Republicans had been expected to pick it up this week, after voting on a separate $70 billion funding blueprint for the two immigration enforcement agencies that passed the Senate last week. The House is expected to vote on the budget resolution with funding instructions for ICE and Border Patrol on Wednesday.
The need to fund the Secret Service has intensified since Saturday's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner by a man prosecutors say tried to assassinate Trump. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said current money for the department, which also includes the Transportation Security Administration, will run out in early May.
But Johnson told reporters the Senate legislation to fund all of DHS except for ICE and Border Patrol would have to change.
“We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers. It doesn't change most of the substance. But it makes sure that we're not going to orphan the primary agencies of DHS,” Johnson told reporters, without providing details.
House Republican hardliners have balked at the Senate legislation, saying they wanted to fund all DHS agencies including ICE and Border Patrol.
A modified bill would need to be passed again by the Senate, where Democrats could prevent it from receiving the 60 votes necessary to pass most legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Johnson's counterpart, told reporters the DHS funding bill and the budget blueprint for ICE and Border Patrol would ultimately provide adequate funds for all homeland security operations.
"We did everything we can to ensure that everything is appropriately funded," said Thune. "Hopefully that will be enough to get the House in a comfortable position."
The budget resolution the House is expected to take up this week is the precursor for separate funding legislation for ICE and Border Patrol that would circumvent Senate Democratic opposition through a parliamentary maneuver called budget reconciliation. That funding would run through Trump's presidency, which ends in January 2029.
Last year, Republicans passed legislation providing around $130 billion in funding for ICE and Border Patrol, separate from their annual appropriations.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
