Republicans balk at Senate Democrats’ DHS shutdown counteroffer
Republicans on Wednesday opposed Democrats’ counterproposal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security; Lawmakers and the White House are scrambling to reach an agreement before the start of a two-week vacation planned Friday ahead of a busy week of travel for the U.S. spring break and Easter holidays.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Wednesday there was “no point” in Republicans making another response to Democrats’ opposition and said the Senate would vote later that day on the GOP proposal unveiled earlier this week.
“It’s not even close to being real,” Thune said of the counteroffer. “They know better. They want things that have already been denied. So it seems like they’re going round and round and round and round.”
The White House criticized Democrats for their role in the negotiations.
“It’s ridiculous that Democrats are demanding further reform from an institution they still refuse to fund,” a White House official said via email Wednesday on condition of anonymity. “This latest move by Democrats proves they are not interested in a serious debate and do not care if their shutdown hurts Americans.”
The infighting between Republicans and Democrats means a possible deal before the weekend is far from certain. Optimism from earlier in the week began to evaporate Wednesday as airport security lines were long and lawmakers appeared to be deadlocked.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning that Democrats are looking for a solution. He described the Republicans’ latest offer as “bad faith” and announced that he would oppose it.
“Our proposal is a reasonable, well-intentioned proposal that poses the same questions that Democrats have been talking about for months,” Schumer said.
Schumer did not list specific points of his proposal, but Democrats have been calling for changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s immigration enforcement practices for months. These changes include requiring a judicial warrant for federal agents to enter private property and banning the use of masks.
Schumer said, “We have now given our response to the Republicans, and it is a serious offer. To my Republican colleagues, time is of the essence.” “Easter holidays are coming, families are going on spring break. TSA lines are literally stretching out the doors of airports.”
The backlash comes after Senate Republicans and the White House unveiled a proposal earlier this week to fund much of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s agency while withholding money for enforcement and removal operations.
Democrats were angered by the proposal because it did not include any of the ICE changes they had demanded. Moderate Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats and votes with Republicans on government funding, said Wednesday he’s still a “no.” King called the GOP proposal “misleading” because it would still fund ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, which he said is busy with enforcement and removal operations.
Republicans responded by saying Democrats had moved the goalposts.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said Democrats should “stop messing around” on DHS funding. And from the Senate floor on Wednesday, Thune touted the current GOP proposal, which, in addition to the first round of DHS funding, would also include an attempt at a second Republican-led legislative package to create ICE funds and pass the Trump-based voter ID SAVE America Act.
“Democrats have repeatedly said they want to pay the TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and the workers who protect America from cyber attacks,” Thune said. “This bill will accomplish that. I hope Democrats will work with us to reach an agreement and reopen the Department of Homeland Security this week.”
DHS has been closed since February. Transportation Security Administration officers are missing paychecks and skipping work, causing huge lines at airports across the country. This week, Trump began stationing ICE agents at airports to assist TSA agents.
Democrats refused to fund the agency after federal agents killed U.S. citizens during an immigration surge in Minneapolis in January. They were repeatedly forced to vote to fund all of DHS except ICE, which Republicans oppose.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said Wednesday that frustration is growing.
“We literally offered them what they wanted three days ago and then suddenly they were like ‘nope, now we got new stuff. That was the story of all time,'” Lankford said. “It was a constant journey, one more thing, one more thing, one more thing.”
Asked if the Senate would recess, Lankford said “No.”
— Emily Wilkins contributed to this story.
