CNN fact-checks 'really astounding' Republican spin on shutdown

The House could vote, and likely pass, the Senate bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but on Friday afternoon, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made it clear he's not going to.

Johnson said in a press release that his members won't vote on the bill in its current form. He trashed the Senate for accepting a "radical, crazy agenda." The bill fully funds all of DHS except Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Both of those were already heavily funded through the "Big Beautiful Bill" in 2025.

But in a fact-check, CNN made it clear, Johnson has the votes because Democrats are willing to support the Senate bill if they were to vote on it. There are enough Democrats and Republicans willing to support the legislation as it passed in the early hours of Friday morning.

"House Speaker Mike Johnson is very clearly in a very tough spot here. You can tell by how he is pretending that Democrats are in control of the Senate and that the Senate bill that he and House Republicans are rejecting was not actually sent over to the House by the Republican-led upper chamber," said CNN host Brianna Keilar.

"He said House Republicans are not going to be part of any effort to reopen borders or stop immigration enforcement, he said. They're going to deport illegal aliens. This, we should note, as ICE has actually been sort of redirected to go to some airports," Keilar explained.

ICE is currently being paid, while those at airports are beside TSA agents who are not being paid, despite both being under the umbrella of Homeland Security.

Johnson "said Senate Democrats have foisted this on them as a radical, crazy agenda, but we do just need to note that if this is part of a radical, crazy agenda, it was good enough for Senate Republicans, who do hold the majority in the Senate," Keilar fact-checked.

"And he said the Senate bill has zero funding for immigration enforcement. Now, there isn't ICE and CBP funding, but we should note here that ICE and CBP are funded quite substantially for years by that 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' that landmark legislation of President Trump's. So there was sort of a question even in this. What ultimately did Democrats even achieve by going through this shutdown? But clearly, there are things Republicans want in this bill," Keilar said.

Speaking with co-host Boris Sanchez made it clear that, throughout this full shutdown, immigration agents have been paid. TSA workers and civilian Coast Guard members have not been paid.

At the end of the press conference, Johnson said that before coming out to speak to them, he and Trump spoke via phone and that he supports Johnson.

"It's also notable that he's talking about Democrats wanting open borders. That's not what they were demanding out of this shutdown," added Sanchez. "They wanted adjustments to immigration enforcement, policy changes to body cameras, masks being worn, judicial warrants being required to enter people's property. So, a lot there from Speaker Johnson that doesn't pass muster."

Speaking to CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox, Sanchez said that Johnson was "clearly trying to spin the fact that he doesn't have enough votes to pass the plan that Republican Senators put forward."

Fox agreed that if Johnson voted on it that Democrats would "go along with him."

"And we heard from [Minority] Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries (D-N.Y.) earlier today that he said Democrats were willing to do whatever is necessary in order to end TSA workers not getting paid as soon as today," said Fox. "So, the votes likely would have been there if he would have brought this to the floor. But obviously, he is facing a lot of pressure from conservatives in his conference who were not happy with what the Senate."

She called it "really astounding" to pick apart pieces of the bill that Republicans unanimously supported overnight.

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