Shutdown infighting shatters GOP unity in critical stretch for Trump | CNN Politics

What started as a shutdown face-off between Republicans and Democrats morphed into a full display of disunity between GOP leaders just months ahead of the midterm elections Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s decision to leave immigration enforcement funding out of a deal with Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and the House GOP’s revolt over that deal shattered the fragile party unity that had been crucial to President Donald Trump’s second term. Now, Republicans are running Washington during the longest-ever shutdown of DHS, while their unifier, Trump, is consumed by a Middle East war that threatens even more problems for Congress this year. The president on Wednesday issued a public directive to GOP leaders to figure out full funding for DHS by June 1. “That’s why we are going forward to fund our incredible ICE Agents and Border Patrol through a process that doesn’t need Radical Left Democrat votes, and bypasses the Senate Filibuster (which should be repealed, IMMEDIATELY!), working in close conjunction with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Leader John Thune,” Trump declared in a lengthy Truth Social post. “We are going to work as fast,