Senate Republicans Call for Better Coordination with House Amid Funding Push

Senate Republicans are evaluating their ties with House Republicans ahead of a critical test of unity between the chambers.

Dysfunction, miscommunications and wasted time marked recent months of Republican control of Congress, especially during the longest government shutdown on record.

Senators aren't pointing fingers at specific House members, but they agree changes are needed as they move to fund immigration operations for the next few years.

"I think we all need to get in a room and figure out what's our plan," Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital. "And how are we going to get things done for the American people? That has to be the goal, and right now something needs to change."

Republicans plan to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years through budget reconciliation. The process demands near-unanimous support in both chambers since it excludes Democrats.

Divisions emerged during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rejected the Senate's compromise to reopen the agency. That choice extended the shutdown nearly a month and forced reliance on reconciliation. It also bred frustration between chambers even as leadership and President Donald Trump push for unity.

Both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hold slim majorities, with Johnson's even tighter. Senate Republicans recognize this, particularly on bills Democrats oppose, holding back public criticism.

"I mean, I think we understand the challenges that Mike has over there. He's not king. He's the speaker of the House," Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. "And their margin of error is less than ours, proportionately. So I can't imagine. I think he's doing the very best he can."

Some senators view it as a communication gap rather than outright House dysfunction.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, rejected the idea of broad House problems. He said senators must step up. "I think we have to take a little bit of ownership ourselves here in the Senate, and that's certainly not [just] the leadership, but all of us," Moreno told Fox News Digital. "Because when we're working on bills, we should have total, complete synchronicity with the House."

House Republicans said they were caught off guard by the Senate deal to reopen most of DHS earlier this year, which excluded funding for ICE and Border Patrol.

"We've got to be able to make sure we're communicating better and working through the issues," Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. "The House isn’t our enemy. We gotta be able to resolve all the issues on a piece of legislation. We have differences of opinion. OK, let's work them out."

Communication between chambers has relied on DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former senator who served as a liaison for major bills since Republicans took control last year.

Lankford said primary communication rests with Thune and Johnson when asked about needing another figure like Mullin.

Thune has avoided public criticism of Johnson or House Republicans. He noted differences in chamber operations will cause problems.

"We obviously have a 60-vote threshold," Thune said. "We need Democrats. You know, he doesn't need Democrats, but he needs every Republican, and that's a real challenge on a good day. And, you know, sometimes there aren’t a lot of good days around here."

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said despite issues, Republican unity blocked the largest tax hike in decades that Democrats would have imposed. "All of that would have been in the opposite if the Democrats had been in the majority and been able to do what they wanted to do to raise taxes," Barrasso told Fox News Digital.