Mike Johnson faces "hell week" as Republicans defy Trump

House Speaker https://www.axios.com/2026/04/15/mike-johnson-fisa-conservative-revolt" target="_blank">Mike Johnson is staring down a brutal pre-recess session next week as he tries to cram three high-stakes votes through a fractured conference.

Why it matters: Johnson (R-La.) has built a reputation for https://www.axios.com/2025/12/10/mike-johnson-house-paralyzed-ndaa" target="_blank">pulling off the improbable.

But his rank-and-file have shown a new willingness to buck President Trump, who the speaker relies on to close tough votes.

• The House will take up three contentious measures next week: A long-term extension of Section 702 FISA, the farm bill and the Senate-passed budget reconciliation resolution to fund ICE and Border Patrol.
• "Next week is going to be hell week," Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) https://x.com/emilybrooksnews/status/2047324832728064038?s=20" target="_blank">told reporters.

🚔 Johnson's biggest headache may be the Senate-passed budget resolution to fund parts of the Department of Homeland Security.

• 🥊 House Republicans don't buy that the Senate will do a third reconciliation bill, and they're demanding to make reconciliation 2.0 as ambitious as possible.
• "We don't trust the two step process.

  I just will be honest with you, because the two step process has the separation in it.

  That's a sticking point," Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) told Axios.

• "We're not there yet," House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington told https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5845620-ice-border-patrol-reconciliation-house-republicans/" target="_blank">The Hill about getting members on board with a package that's just ICE and Border Patrol.

💰 Between the lines: DHS is running low on funds to pay its employees.

• For GOP leaders, it may not be tenable to wait a couple weeks for the reconciliation process to wrap up before passing the rest of DHS funding.

🥀 Johnson also faces a thorny path on a three-year extension of FISA that doesn't include warrant-requirements, a key demand from conservatives.

• "If you're not going to have warrants, I'm not going to play ball," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told Axios.
• There's also a push to attach unrelated measures: "I believe that the votes are not there unless FISA includes CBDC," Self said.
• The program is set to lapse next Thursday night without an extension, and some members say another short-term patch may be needed.

What's next: Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told Axios that a Wednesday night meeting "resolved a lot of the issues" members had, but several conservatives expressed reservations as of Thursday morning.