DHS funding deal stalls in Congress amid continuing negotiations

Senate Democrats and Republicans appeared no closer to reaching a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Saturday, following weeks of negotiations with the White House.

President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has been meeting with centrist Democrats over the past few days to try to find a path forward on a DHS funding package. A meeting scheduled for Saturday evening between Homan and lawmakers was canceled that same afternoon.

The Hill has reached out to Senate leadership and the White House for comment.

Democratic Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) have participated in the talks, as has Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine), who caucuses with Democrats.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a Republican appropriator, said ahead of Saturday’s meeting that Republicans were “making some progress” with centrist Democrats following their Friday evening meeting with Homan. 

“I wasn’t in the meeting, but I got encouragement from it. Definitely not done yet, but we’re making some progress,” the South Dakota Republican said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) similarly expressed hope that the continuing White House talks could drive the two sides closer to a deal, telling reporters on Saturday afternoon that the shutdown “doesn’t reflect well on anybody.”

“This is our job. This is what we should be doing here, and there being good faith efforts made to try and address the issues that Democrats are concerned about by the administration … and they’re working hard to get an outcome,” Thune said. “So at some point, like I said earlier, the Democrats are going to take yes for an answer.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) cast a less optimistic view of the ongoing negotiations, telling The Hill outside the Senate floor on Saturday that Republicans were “not making any progress.”

“I wish I could share the enthusiasm of some of my colleagues, but if you gave every one of my Republican colleagues truth serum, they would tell you we don’t have the slightest idea how we’re going to get out of this mess, and we’re not optimistic,” the GOP lawmaker said.

Democrats are continuing to withhold support for the funding bill until the White House agrees to make several key reforms to DHS’s immigration enforcement agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

Democratic lawmakers are asking the Trump administration to impose a mask ban, judicial warrant reform and a universal code of conduct for federal agents at ICE and CBP. 

“All we’re asking for is that ICE agents follow the same rules as pretty much every other law enforcement out there in this country. Same kind of accountability, same kind of lucid engagements in making sure that the public is safe.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters on Saturday. 

Amid continued Democratic opposition on Saturday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proposed splitting off provisions for ICE and CBP from the department’s funding bill and later funding these agencies through the reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority.

Other agencies affected by the DHS shutdown include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has criticized the White House’s proposed DHS reforms, said on Saturday afternoon that Democrats were having “productive conversations” but called on Republicans to “fund TSA now.”

“Let us keep negotiating the outstanding issues with ICE, but let us start sending paychecks to TSA workers now,” Schumer said ahead of a floor vote on his proposal to suspend Senate rules to push through funding for the transportation agency amid nationwide airport staffing shortages. 

Republicans voted down the measure, which Thune said in a Saturday floor speech would not effectively reopen the agency. The GOP leader criticized Democrats’ decision to block DHS funding again in a Friday vote.

“The opportunity to fund TSA has come and gone multiple times here when we have had votes on the floor, including as recently as yesterday and countless motions, continuing resolutions, to fund all of DHS, including TSA numerous times,” Thune said.

On Saturday, the president sparked backlash from Democrats after announcing his administration would send ICE agents to airports to conduct airport security during this shutdown. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called the decision “another reckless, lawless threat to misuse ICE agents.”

“He seems to have no concept of what the limits are on ICE, and I think America would be absolutely appalled to see ICE agents roaming through airports, just as they’ve been breaking down doors at homes,” Blumenthal told The Hill on Saturday afternoon. 

The Connecticut Democrat indicated that the president’s actions have furthered the distance between the two sides in these negotiations. 

“We could solve these issues in an evening if Trump would simply say yes or get out of the way,” Blumenthal said. “If Trump were just to go radio silent, rather than going thunderbolt fresh, there would be solutions within reach, and there is a path to the kinds of reforms that are routine for police departments all around the country, as we’ve been saying again, and again, and again.”

Alexander Bolton contributed reporting.

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