Trump’s disconnect in DHS stalemate fuels Republican infighting: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur digs into a key factor driving Republican division on the DHS shutdown. Plus, we run through the latest updates on the Iran war as it stretches into its second month.

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— Adam Wollner

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Trump’s disconnect in DHS stalemate fuels Republican infighting

Analysis by Sahil Kapur

President Donald Trump’s disconnect from the legislative dynamics on Capitol Hill has fueled a new round of Republican infighting as the Department of Homeland Security is in the midst of the longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history.

After the Senate unanimously passed a bill early Friday to fund all of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., trashed it as a “joke” and refused to bring it to the floor. He sought to absolve Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and blame it solely on Senate Democrats, even though the GOP controls the chamber.

Trump didn’t weigh in publicly on either the Senate bill or the House’s doomed stopgap measure that would fund all of DHS. Both Thune and Johnson thought they were advancing their conflicting bills with Trump’s blessing.

The finger-pointing intensified today when the Senate came in for a “pro forma” session and didn’t attempt to bring up the House-passed bill.

“BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN THIS MORNING. Why? Because not ONE Republican senator went to the floor to put this DHS shutdown exactly where it belongs — on the Democrats,” Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., posted on X. “And I presume that’s because they fled Washington.”

Some Senate Republicans who declined to object to the passage of the bill and the decision to go on a two-week recess are now seeking to distance themselves from those moves. That includes Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, who have called for canceling the recess and passing a bill to fund DHS without Democratic votes — which would require nixing the filibuster.

Rep. Randy Fine, the outspoken and controversial Florida Republican, said on X, “It’s insane that Senate Republicans didn’t even introduce our bill to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security. They didn’t even try. End the vacations and junkets and get your asses back to DC. Now.”

For his part, Trump called it a “shame” last night and demanded — again — that Republicans abolish the 60-vote rule.

“They should terminate the filibuster and they should vote. That’s what I think,” Trump told reporters. “I think the Senate is playing it too soft.”

But Senate Republicans have made abundantly clear for more than a year they won’t do that, with a variety of members deeply dug in on their support for the legislative filibuster.

The lack of a viable direction from the White House has left Republicans on Capitol Hill twisting in the wind, with nobody other than Trump possessing the necessary clout to call the play, and activists and influencers sniping at others within the party as there is still no solution in sight.

The infighting has given Democrats the upper hand to pin blame for the shutdown on the GOP. A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said, “With the division and intransigence among Republicans it is clear that this is a Republican shutdown.”

More from NBC News on the DHS shutdown:

• Amid the long lines and delays at airports, travelers tell NBC News they feel deeply sympathetic to the airline workers who have been caught up in the shutdown — and deeply frustrated with politicians in Washington for letting it all happen.
• Border czar Tom Homan said that ICE agents would remain at airports until TSA officers are able to resume normal operations, Megan Lebowitz reports.
• Follow live updates →

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Iran war, Day 31: Trump threatens Iran’s energy and water if deal isn’t reached soon

President Donald Trump threatened the destruction of Iran’s civilian energy and water infrastructure if a deal to end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz is not reached soon.In a Truth Social post this morning, Trump said “great progress has been made” in talks with Iran. But a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry said there have been no direct negotiations with the U.S. and called the peace proposals “unrealistic” and “unreasonable.”

And in an interview with the Financial Times yesterday, Trump said that he would like to “take the oil in Iran” and is considering seizing the export hub of Kharg Island, which is responsible for more than 90% of Iran’s oil exports.

Catch up on NBC News’ Iran war coverage:

• As surging oil prices ripple through the global economy, some analysts are saying the worst could still be ahead as the conflict drags on, Rob Wile writes.
• Iran has said it is ready to face U.S. troops on the ground, accusing Washington of secretly planning an assault while seeking negotiations to end the war, Freddie Clayton reports.
• While most Iranians are barred from the internet, one of the country’s rising hard-line figures is using social media to take on Trump, Alexander Smith notes.
• Russia took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site and wounded American troops, according to a summary of Ukrainian intelligence shared with NBC News by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Activists who spoke with Peter Nicholas at CPAC in Texas said they trust Trump attacked Iran for good reason, but worry about the chaos the war may unleash.
• Follow live updates →

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That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.

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