Senate Democrats and White House reach government funding deal, strip DHS bill

Senate Democrats and the White House have reached a deal to fund the government, but lawmakers are not yet out of the woods to avoid a partial shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) and President Donald Trump worked on a deal from late Wednesday night into Thursday evening after the top Senate Democrat announced several funding requests and the White House accused Schumer of blocking a meeting with rank-and-file Democrats.

“Five bipartisan bills Democrats want + two weeks of DHS separation [continuing resolution] “We agreed,” Schumer said in a statement.

“The only thing that could slow down our country is another long and damaging Government Shutdown,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

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“I’m working hard with Congress to ensure the government is fully funded without delay,” Trump said. “Republicans and Democrats in Congress came together to ensure the vast majority of the Government is funded through September, while also expanding the Department of Homeland Security (including the crucial Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before).”

“I hope both Republicans and Democrats will deliver the much-needed bipartisan ‘YES’ vote,” he continued.

The agreement between the two would see the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill removed from the larger package of six bills. Schumer and Democrats were adamant that if the bill was rejected, they would vote for the remaining five candidates, including on Pentagon funding.

The agreement also includes a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), for two weeks to fund the agency while lawmakers negotiate restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Trump and Schumer’s bipartisan truce comes after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D. and followed a tentative vote by Senate Republicans on the funding package, which was torpedoed by Senate Democrats and a group of seven Republicans earlier in the day.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wants a vote on an amendment to remove millions of “refugee welfare money” from the funding package and could slow the process unless GOP leadership relents. (Tom Williams/CQ Polling, Inc. via Getty Images)

Republicans have an opportunity to bring the package back to the table, but they will need approval from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to speed up the process.

And they’re still trying to figure things out on their own through the hotline process where the package is vetted by every Senate Republican before being cleared for a floor vote.

Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Rick Scott, R-Fla. It may be difficult to speed up the process, given that several Republican defectors, including Ted Budd, R.N.C., are upset with the brackets added to the bill.

And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wants a vote to amend the bill repeal.”refugee social assistance money” he said, signaling that if he doesn’t do this, he may slow down the process.

TENSION IS BOILING IN THE PARLIAMENT OVER THE SENATE AGREEMENT TO PREVENT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) cast a key test vote on a funding package to avert a partial government shutdown at a time when Democratic resistance threatens to plunge Washington, D.C., into chaos. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Most Senate Republicans agree that repealing the DHS bill is not the best outcome but have argued it is better than defunding the government and entering yet another shutdown.

“This is the only way we can get through this without having to shut down the government for a long time,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

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In his view, the House would have to pass it, although lawmakers would likely reach a deal that would pass the remaining bills and fund DHS for a month. They won’t be back until next week, and fiscal hawks are already openly rethinking the plan.