House Republicans discuss plan to extend Homeland Security funding by three weeks

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives were meeting on Thursday to discuss a three-week extension of funding that would avert a partial shutdown of the domestic security agency, a senior House Republican aide said.

Lawmakers face a midnight deadline on Friday to pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, which spearheads domestic counterterrorism operations, and a temporary extension of funding would give them more time to resolve their differences.

Republicans in the House have tried to attach measures to block President Barack Obama's immigration actions, while the Senate is moving toward passing a "clean" bill that does not include those restrictions.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Peter Cooney)