Johnson to address Senate Republicans amid escalating tensions

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will seek to heal growing friction with his Senate counterparts in remarks emphasizing unity during Senate Republicans' weekly lunch Tuesday, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: House and Senate Republicans have spent months clashing over virtually every major priority, despite their control of Congress and the White House.

• The disputes have ranged from ICE and Border Patrol funding, to the SAVE Act and a long-term extension of FISA.
• Johnson is expected to emphasize the need for open lines of communication as Republicans gear up for reconciliation packages 2.0 and 3.0.
• It will mark Johnson's first appearance at a Senate GOP lunch this year.

The big picture: House conservatives increasingly view the Senate as the main obstacle, while Senate Republicans deride what they characterize as unrealistic demands from House members.

• The dynamic has fueled repeated standoffs among congressional Republicans.
• "I hate the Senate," Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) told Axios late last month amid FISA disagreements. "There are like two and a half good senators."

Catch up quick: The House passed the Senate's DHS funding legislation just before they left for recess, a bill Johnson had previously called a "joke."

• House conservatives revolted over the Senate's two-track strategy, which funded DHS while postponing additional ICE and Border Patrol money to reconciliation.
• Several House Republicans privately and publicly said the move deepened mistrust of Senate Republicans.
• Johnson and Thune openly clashed over the strategy last month after Johnson said he wanted to make changes.

What's next: Republicans now face a high-stakes push to pass a second reconciliation package with border funding by President Trump's self-imposed June 1 deadline.

• Last week, Senate Republicans moved to include $1 billion in security funding for Trump's ballroom but the move has already hit resistance among some moderates.
• It will be a politically tricky vote that Democrats are eager to frame as an affordability contrast.

Another flashpoint: Republicans still have no clear path to a long-term Section 702 FISA extension.

• Congress has already approved two short-term extensions of the warrantless surveillance program without resolving major disputes.
• The House passed a three-year extension paired with a ban on a Federal Reserve-backed digital currency, which Senate Republicans oppose.
• Conservatives are continuing to push for warrant requirements and insist the crypto provision remain attached.

And there's the SAVE Act: House Republicans have blasted Senate Republicans for months for refusing to get rid of the filibuster to advance the GOP's signature election bill.