Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blocked Senate Republicans’ attempt to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the rest of the year, teeing up a likely shutdown.
The upper chamber tried and failed to pass the original DHS funding bill Thursday, testing Senate Democrats’ resolve as the deadline to fund the agency approaches Friday.
The bill failed largely along party lines, save for Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who joined Republicans in their attempt to fund DHS.
Senate Democrats have demanded a stringent list of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They weren’t persuaded by border czar Tom Homan that operations in Minneapolis would be drawn down as negotiations continue.
‘The administration doesn’t actually want to reform ICE,’ Schumer said. ‘They never do it on their own. That is why we need — we are fighting for — legislation to rein in ICE and stop the violence.’
It was a déjà vu moment from months earlier, when Thune repeatedly tried to peel Democrats away from Schumer during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history but failed to break their blockade.
Failure to send the full-year DHS funding bill to President Donald Trump’s desk leaves Congress with few options as the midnight Friday deadline looms.
The Senate is now expected to take another shot at preventing a partial shutdown with a short-term extension of DHS funding. Republicans are eyeing at least four more weeks of funding for the agency, though that plan is also expected to fail.
Still, negotiations are ongoing in the background, and Thune said there was some progress despite Democrats continuing to publicly reject Republicans’ offers.
‘They’re posturing right now, I think,’ Thune said. ‘But I do think the progress has been real. I think the concessions on the part of the administration have been real.’
Senate Democrats received the legislative version of Republicans and the White House’s counteroffer Wednesday night, but many said it was ‘not sufficient.’ Several Democrats leaving a closed-door meeting Thursday morning said a deal remains out of reach.
‘We’re still looking at it, but no, not today,’ Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said. ‘They have not addressed most of our major concerns at all.’
Murray signaled Democrats would present their own counterproposal to the White House, a sign negotiations are ongoing, though likely not fast enough to avert a shutdown.
Lawmakers are facing the Friday deadline as both chambers prepare for a weeklong recess. Several members of the House and Senate are expected to travel to Germany for the annual Munich Security Conference.
While Thune said a deal could still be within reach, he indicated lawmakers may leave Washington while talks continue.
‘But, you know, until then, I don’t know if there’s any point keeping people around here and sitting around doing nothing,’ he said.